The Godly TriWizard Tournament
by jess.firework
Summary: Dumbledore suspects Voldemort will make a move and invites Camps Half-blood and Jupiter to participate in the Godly TriWizard Tournament, and asks for the Seven of the Great Prophecy, Thalia and Nico to watch over Harry Potter.
1. Chapter 1: Our peace is already over?

Chapter One: Our peace is already over?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus.**

Annabeth's POV:

The war with Gaea is finally over, and we have peace. Many demigods were lost, Greek and Roman, but that is the life of a demigod. We rarely live for a long time. Just last week, we burned the shrouds of Drew (not too sad to see hers burning), Butch (he was such a good equestrian!), Clovis (he often fell asleep in battle, so I expected his death), Miranda Gardener (Katie was distressed at her sister's death, but Travis comforted her), etc. The hunters, Jason, Hazel and Frank were visiting, so we also burned a shroud for Phoebe and Bobby.

Percy and I were cuddling on the beach. I felt so at home in his arms. I looked into his beautiful sea green eyes and kissed him softly. He passionately kissed me back, and I returned it a bit rougher. With that, our loving kisses became a hot make out. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see Travis running over to us, but when he saw us, his face instantly turned red. Our lips drew apart, and we looked at him.

"Hey guys…Chiron wanted you two, the other of the Seven, Thalia and Nico to come to the Big House for a meeting." He stuttered. Percy groaned and asked why. "Chiron didn't tell me, but he wants you to come right away."

"Okay; and Travis, don't act like you haven't made out with someone before. I've heard Conner talking about you and Katie." Travis turned redder at my statement. "Thanks for the message!"

Hand in hand, I walked with Percy to the Big House.

"I wonder what this is about." Percy said. "Do you have any ideas?"

"I don't. Chiron hasn't told me anything." I tried to think of something, but nothing came to me.

Percy gasped. "Wise Girl doesn't know something!"

"Shut up, Seaweed Brain!" I said playfully.

When we walked into the rec room, we could see the other of the seven, Thalia, Nico and Chiron already sitting at the Ping-Pong table. Mr. D was drinking a can of Diet Coke, as usual, while reading a magazine.

"Sorry we're late! Me and Annabeth were having some great time together." Percy grinned.

Thalia and Nico snickered (he also looked sad at the same time), guessing what Percy meant by "great time together." Hazel fanned her face with her hand flustered and Frank smiled watching her.

"So, can you tell us why we're here Chiron? I thought we were out of trouble for a while." Percy and I sat down next to Jason and Piper.

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**So here's my first chapter! Actually, chapters 1 and 2 go together, but it was way too long if I put it all in 1, so I cut it into two parts. Sorry if the characters seem OOC! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of The Godly TriWizard Tournament!**


	2. Chapter 2: Wizards and witches are real!

Chapter Two: Wizards and witches are real?!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus.**

Still Annabeth's POV:

"You demigods are here because a friend of mine needs your help. His name is Dumbledore-" All of the guys started to laugh loudly while Hazel, Piper, Thalia and I smiled.

"Dumbledore! What kind of name is that?" Leo wiped spit from the corner of his mouth that had gotten there from his laughter.

"I have no idea!" Frank clutched his stomach that was hurting from laughing so much.

Chiron waited until they could control themselves, and continued. "My friend is the headmaster of Hogwarts." This time, the guys fell to the floor laughing and Hazel, Piper, Thalia and I finally started laughing along with them.

"HOGWARTS? Who would name a school Hogwarts?" Piper wiped the tears that were flowing from her eyes.

Our activities director was starting to get mad. The centaur stomped his hoof, and we stopped laughing.

"Finally, you stopped laughing! The sound was starting to get annoying." Mr. D took a long sip of his Diet Coke.

"Hogwarts is a school that teaches witches and wizards magic. If you're wondering how these people came to be, it is because long ago, Hecate blessed some mortals who were her most faithful followers with magic. Like everywhere else in the world, their population grew, and it became what it is today."

I thought about this. It made sense how wizards and witches came to be. But it was still so surprising to hear that they were real. Kind of like how many demigods found out that Greek and roman mythology was real. But soon enough it would become normal.

"As I was saying, Dumbledore wants you nine to protect one of his students. His name is Harry Potter, and is famously known as the Boy Who Lived. This is because the darkest, most evil wizard from their world had tried to kill him because a prophecy was told that a boy born at the end of July whose parents had defied him thrice would have the power to destroy him. Voldemort had figured that it was Harry Potter and went after him and his family, but had failed to kill Harry. The curse rebounded, and Voldemort lost his human body, but Dumbledore knows that he is out there, and is plotting to kill Harry."

Leo whistled. "That's rough."

Chiron continued, "This year at Hogwarts, there will be a tournament between three Wizarding schools: Hogwarts, Durmstrang, and Beauxbatons." He stared at the five teenage (excluding Nico) males, daring them to laugh. "But, he has also invited Camps Half-Blood and Jupiter. This tournament is normally called the TriWizard Tournament, but this year it will be called the Godly TriWizard Tournament, for demigods have never participated before. It is very special tournament, and has not been held for a while because of the death toll, so Dumbledore has reason to believe that Voldemort will somehow use it to capture Harry. That is why demigods have been invited, and why you nine are particularly going to watch over Harry Potter, because you have proved yourselves to be some of the strongest demigods currently living. Now, are you up to the task?"

Percy stood up. "Why do we have to help them, when we have just won a war? Don't we deserve peace and quiet?" The demigods empathized with him.

"They need our help Percy. Do you want thousands of innocent people to die because a dark wizard is out there, knowing that you could have stopped him?" Chiron asked.

Percy sighed. "No. But how do we stop someone with magic, when we have none?"

"Demigods aren't affected by magic. But, you can hurt wizards, because they aren't purely mortal. But, that doesn't mean you can just inflict pain upon anyone you don't like, all nine of you." All of them nodded, except for Thalia and Nico.

"Thalia…Nico…" Chiron warned. They sighed in defeat. He smiled at them.

"Do wizards know of us? Are we their enemies, or their allies?" I asked.

"They do not know of our world, like we did not know of theirs. We are neither enemy nor ally, but you should choose to be an ally before enemy." I agreed with Chiron's answer.

"Now, does everyone accept this mission, to protect Harry Potter?" Chiron announced.

"Yes!"

"Good! Meeting adjourned!" Chiron said.

**Here's the 2nd chapter! I plan to add new chapters daily (I'm so free during summer break :D) so expect chapter 3 tomorrow! And if not, then chapter 3 will come in 2 days! As always, sorry if characters are OOC, and I hope you enjoyed the 2nd chapter of the Godly TriWizard Tournament!**


	3. Chapter 3: Preparing for our task

Chapter 3: Preparing for our task

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus.**

Percy's POV:

All of us left the Ping-Pong table (except Mr. D, he was too busy with his magazine and Diet Coke) and walked outside of the Big House. It was already getting dark outside. The moon was starting to rise. Were we really talking for that long? Wow. Annabeth stopped, and asked, "I forgot to ask you, Chiron. When do we leave for Hogwarts? What do we need to bring?"

"Bring whatever you think you may need: Weapons, nectar and ambrosia, magical items, drachmas, extra clothes, etc. The demigod essentials. You leave for England tomorrow by plane. Argus will drive you to the airport. Don't worry, Zeus will not strike the plane down, his two children are also with you, remember? You will arrive at an airport in England, catch a taxi, and go to a train station called King's Cross. From there, go to Platform 9 ¾, and go onto the train, which will take you to the school." Leo and I groaned at the word school. "You will not be a student, but a guest in their school, so you do not need any materials. You will just participate in class with 4th year Gryffindors, for Gryffindor suits demigods most, and you will need to watch over Harry, who is a 4th year Gryffindor. The wizards and witches need not know your identities, but it is okay if they somehow find out. Only the teachers and headmaster know of your bloodline. Do any of you have other questions?" Chiron looked at all of us.

Thalia did.

"What about my hunters? They can't be without a lieutenant for a year!" She exclaimed, her silver circlet shining against the moonlight.

Chiron already had an answer. He seemed to have thought out of everything. "Thalia, if you tell Artemis, you can ask for her to assign a hunter to be lieutenant in your absence." Thalia nodded. We seemed to be doing a lot of that today. "Well, do any of you have any more questions?" He waited a moment. "No? Well, get packing!"

We all ran to our cabins. I opened and closed the door behind me. But, I didn't start packing, and instead sat down on my messy bed, and thought about our situation. I still didn't think it was fair for us to have to help save another world. The Giant War did just end. But then, I felt a pang of guilt. Thousands of people could die from being murdered by this dark wizard, and I could've prevented it, but was selfish and wanted to relax back at home. I shook the thought of not helping from my head. If innocent people could be prevented from being killed, then I would help.

I started packing for the year at Hogwarts. I stood up from my bed, grabbed some nectar, ambrosia and drachmas from my drawer, and put them into my backpack. I looked for clean clothes, but it was really hard because I hadn't been organized, as usual. There was one pile against the wall that looked pretty clean, so I walked over and smelled a T-shirt that was on the top. It didn't smell too bad. Since the rest of the pile probably smelled the same, I stuffed them into my backpack. I already knew Riptide was in my pocket (I know what you're saying "OMG, Percy knows something!"), so I think that's all I need. I zipped the full backpack up and looked out my window. The moon was high in the sky, and since we had a trip the next day, I crashed onto my bed, and fell asleep.

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**Princess of Flames, thank you for being my first reviewer! :D But, I already have an idea for who to put Nico with, so there won't be any ReynaxNico in this fanfic, sorry :(**

**Kuronique Misaki, thank you for being my first favoriter! ****Knight Wolfe and Ace Wayfarer, thank you being my first follower! ****Oh my gosh; I can't express how happy I am!**

**Author's Restraint, thank you for telling me your opinion! Percy did accept pretty quickly, but remember, he is a hero. He would never watch people die, and not help. That's just my opinion, and it's okay if you don't agree ^_^**

**Here's the 3****rd**** chapter! Pretty short, but next chapter (out later today) we will be in the Wizarding World! Hopefully, the characters aren't OOC (that is a big worry for me.) I hope you enjoyed the 3****rd**** chapter of The Godly TriWizard Tournament!**


	4. Chapter 4: Back to Hogwarts!

Chapter 4: Back to Hogwarts!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus.**

Harry's POV:

When I woke up on the first day of September, it felt like the last day of summer break would: gloomy. Heavy rain pounded on my window while I changed into jeans and a sweatshirt. I didn't need to put on my school robes now. They stood out too much and I didn't need to be in them until we reached Hogwarts.

Ron, Fred, George and I had just reached the first floor for breakfast when Mrs. Weasley appeared at the bottom of the stairway, calling to her husband about an urgent message from the Ministry. I flattened myself against the wall as Mr. Weasley came rushing past with his robes on backwards and ran out of sight. When the others and I entered the kitchen, we saw Mr. Weasley bending over the fireplace, talking to Amos Diggory's floating head! I couldn't believe what I was seeing! I shut my eyes hard, and opened them again to make sure I wasn't just seeing things. I wasn't; his head was really there!

They were talking about a retired Auror, Mad Eye Moody. Mr. Diggory said that he didn't know much, but knew that the Dark Wizard catcher had heard intruders in his yard, and while searching had set off some dustbins. The dustbins had made some very loud noise, for it was early in the morning, and Muggle policemen had arrived at his house, but some wizards had also, and they shooed the Muggles away. There were also no intruders found. That was all Mr. Diggory knew. With this new information, Mr. Weasley said goodbye to Mr. Diggory and dashed out of the kitchen.

I could hear Mr. Weasley saying hurried goodbyes to Bill, Charlie, Percy, Hermione, and Ginny. In a few minutes, he was back in the kitchen with his robes on the right way, and was combing his hair. He also said goodbye to Ron, Fred, George and I, wishing us for a good term, before fastening a cloak over his shoulder and Disapparating to work.

The rest of us who were going to King's Cross walked outside. Mrs. Weasley had gotten three Muggle taxis to take us to London. The journey was very unsettling, and we were all relieved to get out at the station, even though the rain had gotten even heavier and were soaking. With difficulty, we got all of our trunks, pets and whatever else we needed out of the trunks of the taxis and together, we walked into the station.

Looking around, I noticed that there were many Muggles, even more than usual. I saw a group of Muggles, and they were all teenagers! They weren't all the same age, but they all looked lean and fit (minus a guy who resembled a Death Eater, he was skinny like me, but he did look strong). But, I thought it was a bit odd that they had no adult with them. Even I came here with adults for the first time, even though Uncle Dursley and Aunt Petunia could care less about my safety. I wandered away from my group. When I walked closer to the teenagers, they were staring out the signs "Platform 9" and "Platform 10". They seemed to be searching for something inbetween Platforms 9 and 10. Instantly, I knew they were looking for Platform 9 ¾ but couldn't find it. I walked up to them and they finally noticed me. I asked them, "Are you looking for Platform 9 ¾?"

One of them, a young dark skinned girl with eyes that looked that they were made of gold, said, "Yes, we are. Could you please help us?"

I nodded. "Sure." I pointed at the brick wall, the gateway to the Hogwarts Express. "Walk through that brick wall. Don't worry, it's only an illusion, you won't get hurt walking through it."

"Thanks!" She answered.

I walked back to the Weasleys and Hermione. They had been looking for me. Mrs. Weasley looked especially worried. She asked me where I had gone, and I told her that I was helping someone find Platform 9 ¾. Understanding, she nodded. One at a time, we went through the barrier. I was last to go through. I motioned for the group of teenagers to come after me, and walked through the brick wall, onto Platform ¾. We got onto the train, and said our goodbyes to Bill, Charlie, and Mrs. Weasley. Hermione, Ron and I walked down the Hogwarts Express into our usual compartment, and setting down our belongings, enjoyed each other's company for the train ride to Hogwarts.

Hours later, the train began to slow down at last. All three of us changed into our robes, and left the train. Along with the other students, we rode horseless carriages to Hogwarts Castle.

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**The 4****th**** chapter is done! I cut out a lot of the drama on the train though, (talk about the World Cup, drama between the trio and Draco, hearing of Durmstrang; don't get mad at me please!) The ending of this chapter isn't that great in my opinion, but it'll have to do :/ The 5****th**** chapter will be up in two days! (It'll be chapter 4 in Percy's POV, so the ride to the airport, the plane ride, taxi to King's Cross, arrival at King's Cross, the Hogwarts Express, and the carriage ride to Hogwarts Castle.) I hope you enjoyed the 4****th**** chapter of The Godly TriWizard Tournament!**


	5. Chapter 5: A New Experience

Chapter 5: A new experience

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, or the Heroes of Olympus.**

Percy's POV:

Someone banged on the door of my cabin. I opened my eyes and looked out the window. The moon was still out! They knocked on my door again. "Percy, wake up!" It was Thalia.

"Five more minutes…" I answered, yawning.

"No way! We need to get to England!" She opened the door with a loud bang. Peeking through my eyes, I could see her walking over to my bed. Thalia grabbed my arm and zapped me. I shot out of my bed.

"Hey!" She glared.

"We have no time, Seaweed Brain! Did you forget that Hogwarts starts today at twelve pm? Right now is four am! The plane ride will be for seven hours," Thalia and I shivered, "and then we'll have an hour to get to King's Cross! We still have a lot of time, but we should hurry. You better get ready! I need to go wake everyone else!" Thalia ran out of my cabin and swung my door closed.

I walked over to my backpack, and swung it over my shoulder. I had no comb, so I just patted my hair down with my hands, and walked out of my cabin. I could see that Annabeth, Jason, Frank, Piper, and Argus were already awake. The demigods had already put all of their belongings in the camp van, and were waiting for everyone else to come. Annabeth was calling her dad on her cell phone, Jason, along with Frank, was Iris Messaging a tired Reyna about the mission and Piper was putting her hair into her usual braids. I ran to Argus, greeted him, and put my backpack in van. Then, I walked back over to Annabeth, and she finished her call with her dad.

"Did he say anything?" I asked.

"He just told me to stay safe and that everyone would miss me." Annabeth smiled. "It's gotten a lot better at home. I never thought I would say this, but I'm going to miss them too." I kissed her forehead and grinned, happy for her.

In ten minutes, Thalia had woken everyone up. "Let's get going!" Thalia commanded. All nine of us walked to the camp van, and Hazel, Nico and Leo put their stuff in the trunk. We all climbed in, and then we were off to the airport.

When we arrived, we got our stuff out of the van, and said goodbye to Argus. He looked a bit teary when he waved at us and drove off, back to camp. All of us walked into the airport, and bought our tickets for our flight. When we got on the plane, all of the Big Three demigods except Jason started panicking, especially Thalia. It would've been hilarious, except I was also scared to death. The flight seemed to last forever, and Zeus seemed to playing around with us. He didn't try to strike it down, but the whole seven hours the ride was very bumpy and rough. We had a terrible landing too, and when I got off the plane with the others, I had an urge to kiss the ground. But then, I realized that I would be kissing Gaea, so I didn't. It was also raining pretty hard, which would make my kiss with Gaea sloppy. Grossed out, I stopped thinking about it.

After we got out of the airport, we caught two taxis to King's Cross. After getting off, we paid the drivers in drachmas (they didn't complain, it _is_ pure gold) because we had no mortal money. Stepping outside, everyone but me got soaked from the heavy rain. They glared at me. I smirked back at them.

"I'll dry you off inside. It'll look odd if we're all dry when it's pouring rain." I let myself get wet.

With those words, we all ran inside, wanting to be dry. We all held hands, and I used my powers to dry everyone. My friends all gave me thankful looks.

"So, we're here! Anyone who needs to go to the bathroom should go now, because I'm not sure if the train has one. We'll wait here." Annabeth said. I rushed to the bathroom at those words. I heard my friends laugh, and Thalia say, "Seaweed Brain!"

After I finished, I walked back to my friends. "How much longer until the train leaves?"

"Soon. A boy told us how to get onto Platform 9 ¾. You have to walk through the brick wall that is in-between Platforms 9 and 10." She pointed at the brick wall. I didn't even notice that there wasn't a sign that said Platform ¾. "I actually think the boy who helped us was Harry Potter. I heard a woman who I think was in charge of him ask him where he had gone." Hazel said.

"He kind of looks like you, Percy. But shorter, skinnier and less athletic." Frank added. "We should get onto the train now. It leaves at eleven thirty, and its eleven twenty five right now."

"Thanks for reminding us, I almost forgot!" Piper exclaimed.

We headed towards the brick wall. Annabeth wanted to go first. Once she assured us that it was safe, she stepped through the bricks. After her, we followed one by one. When we had all arrived at Platform 9 ¾, we stared. The train was _huge_ and the platform was filled with thousands of students of Hogwarts their parents or guardians, and their stuff. It was hard to get through the crowd; there were so many people! It was crazy.

After a few minutes, we arrived at the door to the train. We got on, and searched the train for an empty, private place to sit. The only empty place was at the very end of the train. My friends and I sat down, and talked about our task and other demigod things until we reached Hogwarts. There was a lady who was selling food, but she didn't accept drachmas, so we couldn't buy anything. I was pouting at her, but she didn't feel bad for us.

Finally, after what seemed ages, the train stopped. We got off, and waiting for us were these carriages pulled by what looked like a flying, skeleton horses from the Underworld. They both started talking to Nico, Hazel and I.

_My lords and lady, it is our pleasure to bring you to Hogwarts Castle. We are threstals. It has been many years since we've seen any children of the gods._

"Well, today you get to bring 9 half-bloods to Hogwarts. It's your lucky day!" I said. Usually, I don't call demigods half-bloods, but we are in the Wizarding World. We don't need to reveal ourselves this soon.

_We are honored, and we hope you enjoy your ride, and your time at Hogwarts._

"Thank you." Nico said.

I stepped into the carriage. Surprisingly, it fit all of us. I told them all to come in through the window. After we settled down, Piper asked, "What are those horses? They looked kind of creepy." She shivered. Jason swung his arm over her shoulder to comfort her.

"Those were threstals. Threstals are a breed of winged horses with a skeletal body, a face with reptilian features, and wide, leathery wings that resemble a bat's. They're very rare, so I'm surprised Hogwarts has a whole bunch of them, and you can only see them if you have seen death." Nico said gravely. We'd all seen enough death for our whole life. I wouldn't like to see any more, thank you very much. Too bad I that I'm a demigod, and a child of the Big Three! (I'm joking Dad, please don't get mad at me!) For the rest of the carriage ride, we sat in silence. Once Leo tried to tell us a joke, but gave up. We were all thinking about the war, and wars in Annabeth's, Thalia's, Nico's, Jason's and my sake.

Soon, Hogwarts came into view. It was a large castle with many towers and windows on top of a high mountain. It was amazing. Annabeth, being the official architect of Olympus, started to admire the castle out loud, but Thalia, grinning evilly, covered her mouth before she could get too detailed. We laughed at flustered Annabeth. When the skeleton horses had brought us to the front of the castle and came to a stop, we exited the carriage, jumped onto the grass, and followed everyone else inside.

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**Princess of Flames, in this crossover, I would say...Nico is bi. Slowly, he loses his crush on Percy, and becomes interested in someone else.**

**Here's the 5****th**** chapter! This is barely over 1,500+ words long. Wow! I hope the characters aren't too OOC. Tomorrow, the 6****th**** chapter will be out, in Hermione's POV! I hope you enjoyed the 5****th**** chapter of The Godly TriWizard Tournament!**


	6. Chapter 6: The TriWizard Tournament

Chapter 6: The TriWizard Tournament

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus.**

Harry's POV:

Ron, Hermione, Neville, and I walked into the torch-lit entrance hall.

"Blimey!" Ron exclaimed, shaking water out of his hair. "If that rain keeps up, the lake is going to overflow! I'm soaking – ARGHH!"

A large, red, water balloon had been dropped from the ceiling onto Ron's head and exploded! Drenched, Ron staggered towards me, just as another water bomb dropped, barely missing Hermione. People around them screamed and started shoving one another, trying to get out of the line of fire. I looked up and saw floating near the ceiling, Peeves the Poltergeist. His malicious face was contorted with concentration as he took aim again.

Professor McGonagall came dashing of out the Great Hall. She slipped on the wet floor and grabbed the nearest thing, Hermione's neck, to stop herself from falling. She succeeded, and let go of the brightest witch of her age's neck. Hermione was gasping for air and massaging her neck. Professor McGonagall apologized to her, before yelling, "PEEVES! GET DOWN HERE AT ONCE!"

He cackled. "Not doing anything! Already wet, aren't they? Wheeeeeeee!" He was holding about 10 water bombs. Peeves lobbed one of them towards – the group of Muggles I helped get onto Platform 9 ¾! They were getting lots of attention from the students around them, girls and boys. One of the Muggles that I hadn't seen before – he looked like an older version of me - held out his hand, blew air on it towards the water bombs, and all the water in them turned into steam.

Peeves fumed. "What did you do to my water bombs?!"

"I got rid of the water. Obviously." He gave the poltergeist a lopsided grin. Girls around him swooned, and the blonde, gray eyed girl glared at them.

Hearing the noise, Dumbledore strode into the entrance hall. Seeing Dumbledore, Peeves flew out of the entrance hall, cursing. Taking in with his blue eyes the soaked students, he waved his wand, and dried everyone off. I could see my older look-a-like whispering to a punk, Goth girl something like, "Could've done without stick." Didn't he know what a wand was? And, he could do magic without it! I nudged Hermione who was next to me. I asked her, "If all of those Muggles can do magic without a wand, how powerful are they?" She answered, "They must be very powerful wizards to do magic without wands."

Dumbledore opened the doors to the Great Hall. He led the students inside the grand room and the students sat in their House tables. Ron, Hermione, and I sat down at the Gryffindor table, across from the Gryffindor ghost, the Nearly Headless Nick. I watched the Muggles walk with Dumbledore. He beckoned for them to sit at the staff table, and they sat down. I wondered why. They were still getting lots of stares by the students. The dark-skinned, gold eyed girl and a pretty girl with color-changing eyes were fidgeting, not liking the attention.

The Great Hall was looking its usual, splendid self. Golden plates and goblets gleamed by the lights of candles that were floating in midair. The four House tables were packed with students; at the top of the Hall, the staff and Muggles sat along one side of the fifth table, facing the students. There were more empty chairs than usual. Three weren't being used. One was Hagrid's, and another was Professor McGonagall's. I couldn't think of who the last one was for. Then, it hit me. There wasn't a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher! I felt disappointed. Defense Against the Dark Arts was my favorite class, even though I've only had one decent teacher so far.

Hermione voiced my fear. "Maybe they couldn't get one!" She said anxiously. I surely hoped not.

Finally, Professor McGonagall walked into the Great Hall, leading a long line of first years up to the top of the Hall. She placed a four-legged stool on the ground before the first years and, on top of it, an extremely old, dirty patched wizard's hat. The first years stared at it. So did everyone else in the Hall. For a moment, there was silence. Then, a long tear near the brim of the hat opened wide like a mouth, and the hat broke into song.

A thousand years or more ago

When I was newly sewn,

There lived four wizards of renown,

Whose names are still well known:

Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor,

Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,

Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad,

Shrewd Slytherin, from fen.

They shared a wish, a hope, a dream,

They hatched a daring plan

To educate young sorcerers

Thus Hogwarts School began.

Now each of these four founders

Formed their own house, for each

Did value different virtues

In the ones they had to teach.

By Gryffindor, the bravest were

Prized far beyond the rest;

For Ravenclaw, the cleverest

Would always be the best;

For Hufflepuff, hard workers were

Most worthy of admission;

And power-hungry Slytherin

Loved those of great ambition.

While still alive they did divide

Their favorites from the throng,

Yet how to pick the worthy ones

When they were dead and gone?

Twas Gryffindor who found the way,

He whipped me off his head

The founders put some brains in me

So I could choose instead!

Now slip me snug about your ears,

I've never yet been wrong,

I'll have a look inside your mind

And tell where you belong!

The Great Hall rang with applause as the Sorting Hat finished. The first years and the Muggles look surprised that the Hat sang. It was a different song than when I was Sorted, I realized. It probably made up a new one every year. What a boring life; being a hat. But then, it never is sought out by dark wizards wanting to destroy them. Lucky hats.

Professor McGonagall now began to unroll a large scroll of parchment. She told them that when she called out their name, they would need to put on the hat and sit on the stool. When the hat announced what House they belonged in, they would go and sit at that table.

The Sorting began. From the people I had watched, Dennis Creevey and Natalie McDonald were placed in Gryffindor. Stewart Ackerley and Orla Quirke became Ravenclaws. When Stewart sat down at the Ravenclaw Table where everyone was applauding him, I caught a glimpse of Cho, the Ravenclaw Seeker, who was cheering him on when he sat down. For a quick second, I had an urge to also sit at the Ravenclaw Table.

Eleanor Branstone, Owen Cauldwell, Laura Madley, and Kevin Whitby were all placed in Hufflepuff. Malcolm Baddock and Graham Pritchard were sorted into Slytherin. After Kevin Whitby was put into Hufflepuff, the Sorting ended. Professor McGonagall picked up the Sorting Hat and the stool and carried them away. Professor Dumbledore got to his feet. He smiled at his students, with his arms open wide in welcome. Dumbledore told them, his deep voice echoing, "I have only two words to say to you. Tuck in."

"Hear, hear!" Ron and I said, our eyes shining with delight as the empty dishes in front of us filled magically before our eyes. Hermione shook her head at us, saying "Boys." We loaded our plates with many delicacies while Nearly Headless Nick watched us mournfully. With his mouth full of mashed potato, Ron declared, "Aaah, 'at's be'er!"

"You're lucky there's a feast at all tonight, you know. There was trouble in the kitchens earlier." Nearly Headless Nick said. I asked him what had happened through a big chunk of steak. "Peeves, of course. The usual argument. He wanted to go to the start-of-the-year feast, which was really out of the question, since he's utterly uncivilized. Can't even see a plate of food without throwing it across the room! We held a ghost council about it, and the Friar was all for giving him a chance, but wisely, the Bloody Baron put his foot down."

"No wonder he was terrorizing us when we came! He was mad that he couldn't come. What did he do in the kitchens?" I wondered.

"The usual. Wreaked havoc and mayhem. Pots and pans everywhere. Place swimming in soup. Scared the house elves out of their wits –"

_Clang. _Hermione had knocked over her goblet filled with pumpkin juice, staining several feet of white linen orange, but she paid no attention. Hermione said, horror-struck, "There are house-elves _here? _At Hogwarts?"

"Certainly. The largest number in any dwelling in Britain. Over a hundred. You've probably never soon one because they hardly ever leave the kitchen in the day. They come out at night to do a bit of cleaning...see the fires and so on… I mean, you're not supposed to see them. That's the mark of a good house-elf; that you don't know if it's there." Nearly Headless Nick exclaimed.

Hermione stared at the ghost. She asked, "But they get _paid_? They get _holidays_, don't they? And sick leave, pensions, and everything?" Nearly Headless Nick started laughing so hard that I thought he would become Headless Nick. After a minute, he stopped laughing, and said, "Sick leave and pensions? They don't want that!"

Hermione looked down at her plate of hardly eaten food, put her knife and fork down on it, and pushed it away from her. She looked at it disgustedly, saying, "_Slave labor_. That's what made this dinner. _Slave labor_." Hermione refused to eat another bite, ignoring Ron's coaxing for her not to waste food.

The rain was still pounding against the dark, glass ceiling. Another clap of thunder caused the windows to shake and the stormy ceiling flashed, reflecting the golden plates as the remains of the first course vanished and were instantly replaced with puddings.

"Treacle tart, Hermione!" yelled Ron, purposely wafting its smell toward her. I laughed at my friend's attempt to make Hermione eat. "Spotted dick! Chocolate gateau!"

But Hermione gave him a look so similar to Professor McGonagall that he gave up. Shivers came down my spine, seeing that on my friend's face.

When the puddings too had all been eaten, and all the last crumbs had vanished off the plates, leaving them sparkling clean, Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The buzz of chatter instantly faded.

"So!" said Dumbledore, smiling at them all. "Now that we are all fed and watered, I must once more ask for your attention, while I give out a few notices. Mr. Filch, the caretaker, asked me to tell you that the list of forbidden object inside the castle has been extended to include Screaming Yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees, and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs. The full list has four hundred and thirty-seven objects, I believe, and can be viewed anytime in Mr. Filch's office. As ever, I would like to remind you all that the forest on the grounds is out-of-bounds to students, as is the village of Hogsmeade to any below third year. It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."

"_What?_" I gasped. No Quidditch for a whole year? I looked around at Fred and George, my fellow members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. They were mouthing at Dumbledore soundlessly, apparently too appalled to speak. Dumbledore went on, "This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy – but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts –"

But at that moment, there was a deafening rumble of thunder and the doors of the Great Hall banged open. A man stood in the doorway, leaning upon a long wall, shrouded in a black traveling cloak. Every head turned towards the stranger, suddenly brightly illuminated by a fork of lightning that flashed across the ceiling. He lowered his head, shook out a long mane of grizzled, dark gray hair, then began to walk up toward the teacher's table. A dull _clunk _echoed through the Hall on his every other step. He reached the end of the top table, turned right, and limped towards Dumbledore. He eyed the Muggles. They stared back at him. Another flash of lightning crossed the ceiling. Hermione gasped.

The man was unlike anyone I had ever seen. His features were weathered and every inch of his face was scarred. But it was his eyes that made him frightening. One was small, dark, and beady. The other was electric blue, like the blonde guy's and the punk rock girl from the group of Muggles, large, and round like a coin. It was moving ceaselessly, without blinking, and was rolling up, down, and side to side, quite independently from the normal eye.

The stranger finally reached Dumbledore. They shook hands, and exchanged some words that I could not hear. Dumbledore gestured the man to the empty seat on his right-hand side. The stranger sat down, shook his mane of dark gray hair out his face, pulled a plate of sausages towards him, raised it to what was the left of his nose, and sniffed it. He then took a small knife out of his pocket, speared a sausage at the end of it, and began to eat it. His normal eye was on the sausage, but the blue eye was still darting restlessly around in its socket, taking in the Hall and its students.

"May I introduce the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Moody!" Dumbledore, Hagrid, and the Muggles clapped. The sound echoed dismally through the Hall. They stopped fairly quickly. Usually there was more applause, but everyone else was too focused on Moody's appearance. Only the Muggles were the kids who weren't scared. How much it would take to scare them, I wondered. Wait…Moody? Mad Eye Moody? Was that him? I asked Ron. Ron thought that it had to be him.

Moody didn't seem to mind the lack of a warm welcome. He continued to eat sausages, and drank from a hip flask that was again in his cloak. It lifted a bit, and I could see that he had a carved wooden leg that ended in a clawed foot.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "As I was saying, we are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, and event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the TriWizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

"You're JOKING!" Fred Weasley said loudly.

The tension that had filled the Hall ever since Moody's arrival suddenly broke. Nearly everyone laughed, and Dumbledore chuckled appreciatively. "I am _not_ joking, Mr. Weasley. The TriWizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of Wizardry: Hogwarts, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. A champion was selected to represent each school, and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. The schools took it in turns to host the tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young witches and wizards of different nationalities – until, that is, the death toll mounted so high that the tournament was discontinued. There have been several attempts over the centuries to reinstate the tournament, none of which has been very successful. However, our own Department of International Magical Cooperation and Magical Games and Sports have decided the time is ripe for another attempt. We have worked hard over the summer to ensure this time, no champion will find himself or herself in mortal danger. The Heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their shortlisted contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place on Halloween. An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the TriWizard Cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons personal prize money."

The Great Hall exploded into chatter. Dumbledore raised his hand. The Hall was silenced.

"Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the TriWizard Cup to Hogwarts, the Heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an age limit restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age – 17 years or older – will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration. This is a measure we feel necessary, given that the tournament tasks will still be difficult and dangerous, whatever precautions we take, and ir is highly unlikely that students below sixth and seventh year will be able to cope with them. I will personally be ensuring that no underage student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts Champion." His light blue eyes twinkled as they flickered over to the Weasley twins. "I therefore beg you not to waste your time submitting yourself if you are under seventeen. Delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving in October and remaining with us for the greater part of this year. I know that you all will extend every courtesy to our foreign guests while they are with us, and will give your whole-hearted support to the Hogwarts Champion when he or she is selected. However, this year, we are also adding something new. Two more groups will be joining us in the TriWizard Tournament. But, they are not wizards. But what they are, I will not tell you. They can tell you themselves, or keep it quiet until October, when all four groups come." He gestured towards the Muggles. "These nine are some few people who are from the two groups I have told you about. You must treat them nicely, and should I warn you to not cross them. Although they are not wizards, they are more powerful than this whole room of wizards and witches combined."

All students' eyes widened, and we stared at the Muggles.

"Now, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. Bedtime! Chop chop!"

Dumbledore and the Muggles walked from the staff table. They stood waiting. There was a great scraping and banging as all the students got to their feet and swarmed toward the double doors into the entrance hall. The Weasley twins were indignant about the age restriction, and Ron was imagining the glory of winning the tournament. Hermione told us to hurry up, because the Hall was already becoming empty. We rushed to Gryffindor Tower. On the way, we met Neville, whose foot had sunken into a trick stair. Ron and I pulled him out from the armpits, and continued to Gryffindor Tower. We finally reached the portrait of The Fat Lady. George told her the password, and we climbed through the hole in the wall that was covered by her painting. We said goodnight to Hermione, who was whispering "_Slave labor_." Ron, Neville and I climbed up the last spiral staircase until they reached their dormitory, which was at the top of the tower. Dean and Seamus were already getting into their beds. We got into our pajamas, and also got into bed. Someone – probably a house-elf; Hermione is going to be mad! – had placed warming pans in between the sheets. It was extremely comfortable, lying there in bed and listening to the storm raging outside.

"I might go for it, you know," Ron said sleepily through the darkness. "If Fred and George find out how to...the tournament…you never know, do you?" I answered, "S'pose not…"

I rolled over in bed, imagining if I had won. If I had tricked the judge, and won it all, in front of the whole school. My arms raised in triumph, TriWizard Cup in hand, and all of the onlookers applauding and screaming. Cho's face was clear in the blurred crowd, her face glowing with admiration.

I grinned into my pillow, glad that Ron couldn't see what I could.

* * *

**Overlordred: I know how you feel! When I stumbled upon the world of Harry Potter/Percy Jackson fanfics, I was so intrigued. Thanks for your really nice comment ^_^**

**Princess of Flames: Oh don't worry; the demigods are going to have a dramatic entrance! The Seven, Thalia and Nico came first to watch over Harry. But when Camps Half-Blood and Jupiter arrive, the wizards will be amazed *-***

**The 6****th**** chapter is done! Wow, these chapters are just getting longer and longer! This is over 3600+ words! I don't know if the next chapter will be long, but most likely not as lengthy as this one. This chapter has a lot of what was in the book but I tweaked and added some things. If you're wondering why Dumbledore didn't announce it as the Godly TriWizard Tournament, it was because it would be too obvious who the two mystery groups were. I wanted to add some mystery for the wizard's side. I hope you understand! **

**Tomorrow the 7****th**** chapter is up! I hope you enjoyed the 6****th**** chapter of the Godly TriWizard Tournament! **


	7. Chapter 7: First Day of Class

Chapter 7: First Day of Class

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and Heroes of Olympus.**

Leo's POV:

"Valdez! Wake up!" I jumped out of my warm bed.

"Ok, Beauty Queen! I am! Couldn't I have had more time? Mr. McShizzle needs his beauty sleep!" I yelled.

"Whatever! Hurry up!" I heard Piper walking away.

I changed out of my pajamas and into my everyday clothes. After washing my teeth in the bathroom, I walked outside of my room and into the living room.

It was such a sweet dorm! Dumbledore said that it was just made this year for the demigods. We all had keys to the dorm. Inside were 12 rooms for the children of the Olympians and another room for the other demigods. Each room reminded us of our cabin back home. The common room had some couches, but most of it was taken up by weapons, dummies, targets, and a climbing wall that was nowhere as dangerous as the one back at camp.

Everyone else had already woken up, which was surprising, since Percy loves to sleep, and he's been getting a lot, ever since he retook the Curse of Achilles, to destroy Gaea. Percy was destroying dummies left and right with Greek techniques. He replaced them with new dummies, and demolished them again using the Roman style of fighting.

"Mr. McShizzle is here! Let's go eat breakfast!" My friends stopped what they were doing, and followed me out of the room. We almost got lost, but a ghost told us where to go and floated/ran off, scared of Nico. We walked to the Gryffindor table, nearby Harry and his friends. The old man had told us to sit with the Gryffindor table from now on, since we would be spending a lot of time with them. We began to eat. I grabbed a waffle. Harry looked us questionally.

I chewed the rest of the food in my mouth, and swallowed. "You're Harry Potter right? I'm Leo Valdez, also known as Mr. McShizzle." Piper rolled her eyes. "The girl who rolled her eyes is Piper McLean. The guy next to her is her boyfriend and my best friend, Jason Grace. "Next to him is Percy Jackson, your older self, in a way." Percy waved. "Next to him is Annabeth Chase, Percy's girlfriend. Next to her is Thalia, Annabeth's best friend, and Jason's sister. Never use her last name." Thalia shot Harry a warning look. He flinched. "That's just a small dose of what you might be getting if you call her anything but Thalia. Next to her is Nico Di Angelo. Next to him is Hazel Levesque, Nico's half-sister. Lastly, next to her is Frank Zhang, Hazel's boyfriend."

"Nice to meet you, Leo, Piper, Jason, Percy, Annabeth, Thalia, Nico, Hazel and Frank. Yes, I'm Harry Potter. These are my friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger." Harry gestured to his friends. Ron and Hermione were busy looking at their class schedule. Harry nudged them, and they looked up at us, and said hi.

Harry, Ron and Hermione looked back down at their class schedules.

"Today's not bad…outside all morning," Ron said. "Herbology with the Hufflepuffs and Care of Magical Creatures…damn it, we're still with the Slytherins…"

"Double Divination this afternoon," Harry groaned, looking down. He ate a spoonful of his porridge. Briskly, Hermione said, "You should've given it up, like I did. Then you'd be doing something sensible like Arithmancy." She buttered her toast. Hermione reminded me of Annabeth. Noticing the buttered toast in her hand, Ron said, "You're eating again!" He watched her adding liberal amounts of jam to her toast too. She said haughtily, "I decided there are better ways of making a stand about elf rights." Ron grinned at her and said, "Yeah…and you were hungry."

"So, Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures and Divination are your classes today?" Hazel asked.

"Yeah." Ron answered. "Why?"

"We're going with you! Dumbledore wanted us to be a guest in 4th year Gryffindor classes. Since all of our ages are either same as a 4th year's or more. As for why Gryffindor classes, most of us would be sorted into Gryffindor anyways, if we were students here." Frank said. Ron nodded.

I held out my hand towards my fellow demigods, and a small flame sparked in it. I tossed some food into the flame, and my friends followed me. Harry, Ron and Hermione noticed us.

"Why are you wasting perfectly good food?" Ron yelled, outraged.

"It's part of our custom from home. I'm a gorgeous specimen! I don't want to die because I didn't follow it! The food must burn." I clenched my fist, and the flame went out. By now, the smell of burning food had wafted throughout the whole Hall, and students were trying to locate where the delicious smell came from. We quickly started eating again.

Suddenly, there was a sound of rustling above them, and a hundred owls came soaring through the open windows carrying the morning mail. They all first flew to Annabeth, bowing, then to Percy, pecking his indestructible skin, and finally to the people who the mail was addressed. All of the students looked confused at the owls' behavior towards Annabeth and Percy. Us demigods knew what was going on! Owls were Athena's symbol, and since she is a daughter of Athena, they showed their respect for her. Poseidon and Athena have a known rivalry, and Percy is Poseidon's son, so they acted upon Athena's dislike for Poseidon. I laughed out loud. Jason smiled at me. Annabeth was scowling. She didn't seem to like that owls were used as messengers. But, we can't really do anything about it, I hate to say. Mr. McShizzle makes miracles happen! He doesn't sit there when there is a problem. But he does today, I thought. I looked over at our new friends. Hermione and Ron were busy eating. Harry looked disappointed. Maybe he was expecting something?

When breakfast was over, we got up from the table.

"Let's go!" Annabeth said excitedly, wondering what the classes would be like. My demigod friends laughed at her exhilaration. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and us demigods walked out of Hogwarts onto the grounds, across a sodden vegetable patch, and towards Greenhouse Three.

**[TIME SKIP]**

A booming bell echoed from the castle across the grounds, signaling the end of class. I jumped, surprised. We left Greenhouse Three. Following the Gryffindors, we headed down the sloping lawn towards a small wooden cabin, which stood on the edge of the forest that Dumbledore had forbidden from students. Not from us demigods though! But, we didn't want to go near anyways, because monsters were probably lurking in the darkness of the forest. A half-giant, who I think is named Hagrid, was standing outside of the little hut. I guess it was his. He had his hand on the collar of a large black boarhound. Ms. O' Leary might take a liking to him, I thought. I mouthed Ms. O' Leary to Percy, pointed at the boarhound, and wiggled my eyebrows. Percy snickered. Annabeth was watching our exchange and she rolled her eyes. At the half-giant's feet were several open wooden crates. The boarhound struggled against his collar, wanting to see the contents of the wooden crates. As we got nearer, an odd rattling noise reached our ears, followed by what sounded like minor explosions.

"Mornin'!" Hagrid grinned at Harry, Ron and Hermione. "Be'er wait for the Slytherins, they won't want ter miss this – Blast-Ended Skrewts!

**[TIME SKIP]**

Annabeth's POV:

When the ball rang to signal the start of afternoon lessons, Harry, Ron, and we demigods set off for North Tower where, at the top of a cramped spiraling staircase, a silver stepladder led to a circular trapdoor in the ceiling, and the room where our Divination teacher lived.

A smell of perfume drifted into our noses as we emerged at the top of the ladder. The classroom stunk from perfume. It was worse than the Aphrodite cabin! There was also a hot fire raging in the fireplace, making the room warm. The curtains were all closed, and the room was bathed in a reddish light cast by the many lamps, which were all draped with scares and shawls. Heat, dim light, perfume! We'll fall asleep! Didn't she know that? Is she trying to get her students to fall asleep? I asked myself. We walked through the mass of occupied chintz chairs and poofs that cluttered the room, split up and sat down at small circular tables. I sat next to Percy and Nico, and Thalia was across from us. At the next table, Jason was sitting next to Piper and Leo, with Hazel and Frank across with them. At the table next to theirs, Harry and Ron sat next to each other.

Our Divination teacher walked into the classroom. She was named Professor Trelawney. Professor Trelawney was thin, and she wore enormous glasses that made her dark brown eyes appear too large for her face. Her clothes were what a poor woman might wear. On her arms and neck were a large amount of beads, chains and bangles. All I knew about our Divination teacher was that she was related to Cassandra Trelawney, a celebrated witch Seer, and was rumored to also have the "Inner Eye." But, judging her appearance, I doubted that she was a real Seer.

Harry whispered to us, "She's going to predict a student's death. Most likely, one of you. She does it every year. A real fraud, I think."

She walked past the poufs and chintz stairs that were occupied by students. Seeing the demigods, she gasped. Her body started to sway back and forth. Was she usually this dramatic when she predicts a death? I looked at Thalia, and she rolled her eyes at our teacher. Professor Trelawney's gaze fell onto Percy. Her eyes had turned hazel, a mix of brown and green! Was she about to tell us a prophecy? I thought Harry said she wasn't a real Seer! She chanted, "A half-blood of the eldest gods, shall reach sixteen against all odds. And see the world in endless sleep, hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap. A single choice to end his days, Olympus to preserve or raze." Percy was speechless. I held his hand and squeezed it. I guess the rumors were true. Then she stared at the Seven. "Seven half-bloods shall answer the call. To storm or fire, the world must fall. An oath to keep with a final breath, and foes bear arms to the Doors of Death." She sucked in a breath, and looked up at her students. Seeing her eyes return to dark brown, I knew that Professor Trelawney was out of her trance. The students stared at us, and Professor Trelawney.

"What is wrong? Why are you not studying the stars? " We obeyed.

The rest of class was uninteresting. Half an hour into class, she had passed out to every student a complicated circular chart, and we attempted to fill in the position of the planets at our time of birth. I'd finished early, since it wasn't too hard. Percy was begging me to help him, pouting, but I resisted. It would be good for him to learn something, even if it was pointless. Divination was a very unpractical subject. I might quit it for Arithmancy, like Hermione did. I'll ask Dumbledore about it.

Class ended after 75 minutes. Professor Trelawney had assigned us a large amount of homework, when she found out that a student (Ron) didn't know what Uranus looked like. The boys sent him glares, and he paled. Harry sent them back looks, and they apologized to Ron.

Hermione met us in the crowd descending the staircases back to the Great Hall and dinner. We reached the entrance hall, which was packed with people lining up for had just joined the end of the line when a loud voice rang out behind us.

"Weasley! Hey Weasley!"

We turned. Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were standing there, each looking very pleased about something. Ron said shortly, "What?" Malfoy answered, "Your dad's in the paper, Weasley!" He was showing off a newpaper, the Daily Prophet, and speaking very loudly, so that everyone in the packed hall could hear. "Listen to this!" He read the entire news article. It was about Ron's dad, who had come to the rescue of our DADA teacher, Professor Moody, when he had thought there were intruders in his yard. The whole predicament had turned out to be a false alarm. It was a large embarrassment for Mr. Weasley and the Ministry. When Malfoy had finished, he flipped the paper over and held up a picture of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, in front of their house. He began to insult Ron's family. Ron began to shake with fury. Percy also. He loved his family, and would never stand for them to get insulted. It went for his friends' parents too (the ones who were nice, of course.)

Harry tried to tell Malfoy to back off, but the white-blond haired boy kept on insulting Ron's mom. That was it for Percy. He walked up to Malfoy, held him by the collar, and lifted him up in front of everyone in the hall.

"Stop it, Malfoy. Before I embarrass you any longer." Percy glared at Malfoy.

"Get me down from here, Crabbe, Goyle!" Draco screamed.

Crabbe and Goyle tried to grab Percy, but he used his free hand and punched them, sending them flying into some second years who were holding plates full with food. Crabbe, Goyle, and the second years were all covered in food. Percy finally let go of Draco, throwing him like a dart towards the dirty students. Draco also got covered head to toe in food. Percy walked over to them and told them, "Never mess with me and my friends, or you'll be sorry. We won't go easy on you next time." Percy walked back to us. Draco and his crew ran out of the Great Hall. We laughed, watching them run away like cowards.

* * *

**Here's the 7****th**** chapter! This wasn't the best chapter I've written, but I felt that some things in this chapter had importance. No scene of Moody turning Draco into a ferret, sadly. I didn't think he would need to come if the demigods were there. I hope you aren't mad :o Hopefully the characters aren't too OOC. If you didn't think Leo was as sassy as he usually is, that's because after meeting and leaving Calypso in HoH, a male demigod (Jason or Frank, I think) observed that he was more mature, so Leo portrays that in this fanfic.**

**There will be only one more chapter until the groups arrive at Hogwarts, so get excited! Tomorrow, the 8****th**** chapter is out. I hope you enjoyed the 7****th**** chapter of the Godly TriWizard Tournament!**


	8. Chapter 8: The Four Groups Arrive

Chapter 8: The Four Groups Arrive

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and Heroes of Olympus.**

**[MASSIVE TIME SKIP TO OCTOBER 30****TH****]**

Harry's POV:

There was a pleasant feeling of anticipation in the air that day. Nobody was very attentive in lessons, being much more interested in the arrival of the people from Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, and the 2 mystery groups Percy and his friends were from; even Potions was more bearable than usual, as it was half an hour shorter. When the bell rang early, Ron, Hermione and I hurried up to Gryffindor Tower, deposited our bags and books as we had been instructed, and rushed back downstairs into the Great Hall.

The Heads of Houses were ordering their students to be calm, orderly, and to look their best.

"Weasley, straighten your hat." Professor McGonagall snapped at Ron. "Miss Patil, take that ridiculous thing out of your hair."

Parvati scowled and removed a large ornamental butterfly from the end of her plait.

I looked up at the glass ceiling. It was a chilly, clear evening; dusk was falling and a pale, transparent-looking moon was already out in the sky. It was nearly six, and none of them had arrived yet.

**[MEANWHILE]**

Third Person's POV:

Suddenly, the Great Lake's surface began to shimmer. In the sky, there was something flying towards the castle. Over the hills, a moving statue was approaching.

The Great Lake exploded, and a huge flying ship broke through the lake. In the night sky were giant flying horses pulling a huge carriage. Riding the hills was what seemed to be a remake of the Trojan horse.

When the Great Lake became calm and the flying ship had docked, the flying horses and carriage had landed on the ground, and the Trojan horse was on the steps, the people in the flying ship and the carriages left their ship or carriage and walked along the Trojan horse inside Hogwarts Castle.

**[THE GREAT HALL]**

Harry's POV:

Mr. Filch ran up in his funny gait to Dumbledore, who was standing at the top of the Hall, and whispered in his ears. Then, he ran back out of the Hall.

"Hogwarts, our guests have arrived! May I introduce to you, the first group participating in this year's TriWizard Cup, Durmstrang Institute and their headmaster, Igor Karkaroff!" The students looked at the bottom of the Hall in excitement.

The doors opened. The students of Durmstrang strode in. They were all holding some type of metal rod, and when they slammed it onto the ground, sparks appeared. The three students in front performed some acrobatics, and Igor Karkaroff walked in, along with Viktor Krum. Next to me, Ron started to hyperventilate, seeing his idol. Lastly, a student blew fire from the metal rod, and the flame swirled around Dumbledore, and burnt out. Karkaroff walked up to Dumbledore, and they shared a hug. Then, Karkaroff went to sit with the Durmstrangs at the Slytherin table.

"Welcome, Durmstrang! We are glad to have you here. Now, I introduce to you the second group participating in this year's TriWizard Cup, Beauxbatons, Academy of Magic, and their wonderful Headmistress, Madame Olympe Maxime!"

In the doorway of the Great Hall stood the students of Beauxbatons. They wore pale blue robes and hats. Striding in with confidence, they danced like fairies. Periwinkle butterflies flew into the Great Hall. A girl, who was stunningly beautiful, performed some ballet. Madame Olympe Maxime walked into the Hall, and I was taken aback. She was the tallest woman I had ever seen! She was even taller than Hagrid, who was already gigantic in terms of height. Madame Maxime was greeted by Dumbledore, who kissed her on the cheek. Then, she went to her students who were seated at the Ravenclaw table and stood next to them

"Beauxbatons, we are glad to have you here in our castle. Now, I introduce to you our two final groups, Camps Half-Blood and Jupiter, the children of the gods!" The students' eyes widened at his words. The children of the gods? No wonder Dumbledore had warned us of their powers!

What appeared to be a remake of the Trojan Horse appeared in the doorway. It rolled halfway through the Hall. Then suddenly, children and teenagers wearing orange and purple t-shirts sprang out of the Trojan horse. It was then wheeled away into a corner by a teen in orange. I recognized my friends in the crowd of orange and purple. My fellow classmates also seemed to find them. The crowd of orange and purple split, orange on one side, purple on the other. The orange side held a flag that said "Camp Half-Blood" with a flying Pegasus. The purple side held a flag that said "Camp Jupiter" with the letters SPQR surrounded by a laurel crown. Percy and Annabeth led the orange side, and Jason, Frank and a Latino girl wearing a cape led the purple side. A horn blew, and the orange and purple sides began to fight each other using their weapons and shields.

The orange and purple's numbers faded until only Percy, Annabeth, Jason, and the Latino girl were left. The Latino girl and Annabeth were evenly matched, and they kept fighting until they both got tired, which left Percy and Jason to be the only ones standing. Percy and Jason were having an intense fight, bronze sword vs gold sword clashing against each other, until Percy disarmed Jason and held his bronze sword to Jason's neck. Jason admitted defeat, and the mass of orange exploded into cheers. Percy bowed. A centaur galloped into the Great Hall. The orange side knelt down onto one knee, seeing him. Then, they went and sat at our table. My friends sat by Ron, Hermione and I. He walked right up to Dumbledore, and they greeted each other as old friends. Then, the centaur trotted to the orange and purple group.

Dumbledore began to speak to everyone in the Great Hall.

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**The 8****th**** chapter is here! This chapter and the next go together, but I wanted to get this up earlier, so I cut it in half. I hope you enjoyed the demigod's entrance! **

**Tomorrow, the second half of this chapter (Chapter 9) is out! I hope you enjoyed the 8****th**** chapter of the Godly TriWizard Tournament!**


	9. Chapter 9: The Goblet of Fire

Chapter 9: The Goblet of Fire

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, or Heroes of Olympus.**

Harry's POV:

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and – most particularly, guests," said Dumbledore, beaming around at the foreign students. "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable. The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast. I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!" Dumbledore sat down, and I saw Karkaroff lean over instantly and engage him in conversation.

The plates in front of them filled with food as usual. The house-elves seemed to pull out all the stops; there was a greater variety of foreign food in front of them than I had ever seen, including several that was definitely foreign.

"What's _that_?" Ron asked, pointing at a large dish of some sort of shellfish stew that stood beside a large steak-and-kidney pudding. Hermione answered, "Bouillabaisse."

Ron said, "Bless you!" Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "It's _French. _I had it on holiday summer before last. It's very nice."

"I'll take your word on it," said Ron, helping himself to black pudding.

Across from us, the people from Camps Half-Blood and Jupiter seemed to be having a great time. The oranges and the purples seemed to be talking among themselves most of the time, but occasionally they would share some laughs.

"So…you guys are the children of the gods. What should we call you? Children of the gods is a pretty long name." Percy answered me saying, "We're demigods. The ones in the orange? We're Greek. The ones in the purple? They're Roman. Typically, we're enemies, but in the last war we fixed that rift. But, sometimes it's still awkward. Like now."

"How come we've never heard of demigods?" Hermione asked. "And, since it's the first time the Wizarding World has ever met demigods, are you going to do some sort of introduction in front of everyone?"

"You see, there's something called the Mist. The Mist is controlled by Hecate, the goddess of magic. It hides our world from mortals. Although, some mortals have clear sight, and can see through the Mist." Annabeth explained. "As for an introduction…you'll find out tomorrow."

Hagrid sidled into the Hall through a door behind the staff table twenty minutes after the start of the feast. He slid into his seat at the end and waved at Ron, Hermione and I with a very heavily bandaged hand.

"Skrewts doing all right, Hagrid?" I called.

"Thrivin'," Hagrid called back happily.

"Yeah, I'll bet they are," whispered Ron. "Looks like they've finally found a food they like, doesn't it. Hagrid's fingers." I snickered.

At that moment, a voice said, "Excuse me, are you wanting ze bouillabaisse?"

It was the girl from Beauxbatons who had danced beautiful ballet. She had long, silvery blond hair that fell almost to her waist. She had large, deep blue eyes, and very white, even teeth.

Ron went purple. He stared up at her, opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out except a faint gargling noise. For some reason, Piper whipped her head around and sent an ice cold glare at the pretty girl. The girl glared back.

"Yeah, have it," I said, pushing the dish towards the girl. She stopped glaring at Piper. "You 'ave finished wiz it?"

"Yeah," Ron said. He seemed to have gotten his breath back. "Yeah, it was excellent."

The girl sent one last glare at Piper, picked up the dish, and carried it carefully off to the Ravenclaw table. As she crossed the hall, many boys' heads turned, and some of them seemed to have gone temporarily speechless, just like Ron. Ron was still goggling at the girl as though he had never seen one before, which was surprising, seeing how pretty Piper was (don't get mad at me Jason, it's true). I started to laugh. The sound seemed to bring Ron back to his senses.

"She's a _veela._" He said to me hoarsely.

"She is! No wonder I felt a strange hatred towards her!" Ron and I looked at Piper, confused. "Aphrodite and the veelas have a long rivalry. She must be one, or at least have some veela blood in her for the Aphrodite blood in me to get so fired up." Piper reasoned. She turned back around, and continued her conversation with Hazel. She was a daughter of Aphrodite? Well, that makes sense. She was very pretty (Jason, calm down! Piper and I are just friends!)

"Look who's arrived!" Hermione pointed at the staff table. Earlier, Filch had added two seats to the staff table. We hadn't known who they were for, until now. Ludo Bagman was sitting on Professor Karkaroff's other side, while Mr. Crouch, Percy (Weasley)'s boss, was next to Madame Maxime.

"What are _they _doing here?" I said in surprise.

"Who are they?" Percy asked. Hermione answered, "They're in the Ministry, and they're here because they organized the tournament! I suppose they wanted to be here to see it start."

When the second course arrived they noticed a number of unfamiliar desserts too. Ron examined an odd sort of pale blancmange closely, then moved it carefully a few inches to his right, so that it would be clearly visible from the Ravenclaw table. However, the veela girl appeared to have eaten enough, and did not come over to get it.

Once the golden plates had been wiped clean, Dumbledore stood up again. A pleasant sort of tension seemed to fill the Hall now. I felt a slight thrill of excitement, wondering what was coming. Several seats down from them, Fred and George were leaning forward, staring at Dumbledore with great concentration.

"The moment has come," said Dumbledore, smiling around at the sea of upturned faces. "Although it is usually called the TriWizard Tournament, this year, in honor of Camps Half-Blood and Jupiter, it will be called the Godly TriWizard Tournament. It is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring the casket -"

"Casket?" Nico asked loudly. "Is the impartial judge a dead person? They can't do that! They belong in the Underworld!" Students' heads turned toward Nico, and Percy shushed him.

"—just to clarify the procedure that we will be following this year. But first, let me introduce, for those who do not know them, Mr. Bartemis Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation" – there was a smattering of polite applause – "and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports." For him, there was a much louder round of applause, perhaps because of his fame as a Beater, or simply because he looked so much more likeable.

"Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch have worked tirelessly over the last few months on the arrangements for the Godly TriWizard Tournament," Dumbledore continued, "and they will be joining Professor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, Chiron, and myself on the panel that will judge the champions' efforts."

At the mention of the word "champions," the attentiveness of the listening students seemed to sharpen. Perhaps Dumbledore had noticed their sudden stillness, for he smiled as he said, "The casket then, if you please, Mr. Filch."

Filch, who had been lurking unnoticed in a far corner in a far corner of the Hall, now approached Dumbledore carrying a great wooden chest encrusted with jewels. It looked extremely old. A murmur of excited interest rose from the watching students.

"The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman," said Dumbledore as Filch placed the chest carefully on the table before him, "and they have made the necessary arrangements for each challenge. There will be three tasks, spaced throughout the school year, and they will test the champions in many different ways…their magical prowess, their daring, their powers of deduction, and of course, their ability to cope with danger."

"We've got it in the bag!" Many Greek demigods exclaimed. The Roman demigods agreed.

"As you know, in regular circumstances, three champions compete in the tournament, one from each of the participating groups. However, because there are five groups this year, there will be five champions. They will be marked on how well they perform each other the tournament tasks and the champion with the highest total after task three will win the TriWizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector: the Goblet of Fire."

Dumbledore now took out his wand and tapped three times upon the top of the casket. The lid creaked slowly open. He reached inside it and pulled out a large, roughly hewn wooden cup. It would've been entirely unremarkable had it not been full to the brim with dancing blue-white flames.

Percy said, "Look, Nico, it's a dead person!" Jason sniggered. Nico glared at them.

Dumbledore closed the casket and placed the goblet carefully on top of it, where it could be clearly visible to everyone in the hall. He said, "Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school or group clearly upon a slip of parchment and drop it into the goblet. Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, Halloween, the goblet will return the names of the five it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. The goblet will be placed in the entrance hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete. Remember, only students of 17 years of age and demigods older than 12 can participate."

The witches and wizards started protesting that it wasn't fair. The demigods wore irritated faces. Dumbledore held up his hand, and the crowd quieted.

"It is completely fair for young demigods to enter. They have faced many dangers in their youth. Most of these demigods have been in wars that threatened the world. They will be allowed to enter." Most of the students seemed to understand, hearing that they were survivors of war, but some were still indignant.

"To ensure that no underage student or demigod yields to temptation," said Dumbledore, "I will be drawing an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire once it has been placed in the entrance hall. No wizard, witch or demigod under the age of seventeen or twelve will be able to cross this line."

"Finally, I wish to impress upon any of you wishing to compete that this tournament is not to be entered into lightly. Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the tournament throughout the end. The placing of your name in the goblet constitutes a binding, magical contract. There can be no change of heart once you have become a champion. Please be very sure, therefore, that you are wholeheartedly prepared to play before you drop your name into the goblet."

"Off the topic of the Godly TriWizard Tournament, the demigods of Camps Half-Blood and Jupiter will be doing introductions and display of their powers tomorrow at noon, for anyone curious."

The students chattered among themselves excitedly.

"So that's what you meant by 'you'll find out tomorrow' Annabeth!" Hermione realized. Annabeth smiled at her.

"Now, I think it is time for bed. Good night to you all." Dumbledore sat back down.

Hermione, Ron and I said goodbye to our demigod friends, and caught up to Fred and George in the hall.

"An Age Line!" Fred said, his eyes glinting, as they all made their way across the Hall to the doors into the entrance hall. "Well, that should be fooled by an Aging Potion, shouldn't it? And once your name's in the goblet, you're laughing – it can't tell whether you're of age or not!"

"But I don't think anyone under seventeen or twelve will stand a chance," said Hermione, "we just haven't learned enough…"

"Speak for yourself," said George shortly. "You'll try and get in, won't you, Harry?"

I thought briefly of Dumbledore's insistence that nobody under seventeen or twelve should submit their name, but then the wonderful picture of myself winning the Godly TriWizard Tournament filled my mind again…I wondered how angry Dumbledore would be if someone younger than seventeen or twelve _did _find a way to get over the Age Line…

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**The 9****th**** chapter is here! Sadly, for the next 2 days, I am very busy, so I won't be able to update :'( I'M SO SORRRRRRYYYYYYY!**

**On Monday, 10****th**** chapter will be out! I hope you enjoyed the 9****th**** chapter of the Godly TriWizard Tournament!**


	10. Chapter 10: Introducing, the Demigods!

Chapter 10: Introducing, the Demigods!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, or Heroes of Olympus.**

Nico's POV:

The Great Hall was crowded with people. The tables were set aside, and all the witches and wizards took up about ¾ of the Hall. Us demigods were standing on a stage that Dumbledore had set up for us (we'd decided for only the demigods who had come on the quest and Reyna to introduce themselves.) Teachers had cast Protego shields around the students, just in case. The windows were open, and the roof was floating up above the castle. Jason had personally requested this from Dumbledore, probably for his flying trick.

It was time to start. Percy stepped up to the front of the stage.

"So, as you know, we are the children of the gods. Also known as demigods. Being the offspring of gods, we have some powers. And too many titles," he added with an afterthought. "First is Frank!"

Frank stepped up. "I'm Frank Zhang, Roman son of Mars, alter ego of Ares, god of war, Roman form. I'm a Praetor of the Twelfth Legion and leader of the Fifth Cohort. I led the Fifth Cohort into the battle against Gaea. I'm one of the Seven of the Prophecy. My family is blessed by Poseidon, god of the sea, and I am a descendant of the Argonauts." Frank paused, concentrated, and changed into a monkey.

"I thought he was an Animagus!" A Hufflepuff yelled. Frank smiled. "I carry the Argonauts' gift of shapeshifting." He walked back into line. Hazel stepped up to the podium.

"I am Hazel Levesque, Roman daughter of Pluto, god of wealth and riches, alter ego of Hades, god of the Underworld and the dead, which means that I can control the earth, and the riches beneath." Hazel lifted her hands, and all of the things made of precious metals and materials came flying to her. She then lowered her hands, and they flew back to their owners. "I'm a member of the Fifth Cohort of the Twelfth Legion at Camp Jupiter, one of the Seven, and a Heroine of Olympus." Hazel walked back next to me. I took her hand and squeezed it protectively. Piper stepped up.

"I'm Piper McLean, Greek daughter of Aphrodite, goddess of love, alter ego of Venus." At these words, her clothes changed into the ones she wore when she was claimed (Jason told Percy and I about it.) Boys started drooling over her, much to Jason's dismay. I saw Piper's enemy from Beauxbatons glaring at her. "I'm counselor of Cabin Ten, one of the Seven, and Heroine of Olympus. My power is rare among children of Aphrodite. It is charmspeaking, which is the ability to use my voice to persuade others." She looked at the Gryffindor table.

"George, can you come up here?"

George got up, walked through the Protego shield, and approached Piper, looking at her warily.

"Don't worry, this won't hurt. _George, hop around like a chicken. Flap your arms, and peck at the ground. Make chicken noises!_"

George obeyed, and his chicken noises echoed through the Hall. Everyone started laughing, and the sound rang in the air. When he finished, he got up and sat back down at the Gryffindor table embarrassed and annoyed. His brother began flapping his arms and laughing. He glared at his brother and Piper. She smirked back at him. Then, her clothes turning back to normal, she walked back into line next to Jason. Leo strode up to the front of the stage. He was tapping his fingers against his legs.

"I'm Leo Valdez, also known as Mr. McShizzle, the Supreme Commander of the Argo II, and Repair Boy." He grinned widely. "I'm the Greek son of Hephaestus, god of the forge, fire, and blacksmiths, alter ego of Vulcan. Counselor of Cabin Nine, one of the Seven, and a Hero of Olympus. My power is..." His body became engulfed in flames.

The witches and wizards screamed. Leo's grin became even bigger. Some tried to extinguish him using the spell Aguamenti and failed. Finally, he stopped flaming. His clothes were burnt, but he was fine.

"My power is also rare among children of Hephaestus. I'm the first one to have that power in years."

"I'm next." Students looked around for the mystery speaker. Percy grinned. It was Annabeth. She'd put her invisibility hat on during Leo's turn.

"I am Annabeth Chase." She took off her hat. "Greek daughter of Athena, goddess of wisdom and battle strategy, alter ego of Minerva." She added bitterly. "I'm the counselor of Cabin Six, and the Architect of Olympus when it was destroyed in the Second Titan War. I navigated the Sea of Monsters, took on the Titan Atlas' curse of holding up the sky, fought in the Battle of the Labryinth, and the second leader of the Battle of Manhattan against the head Titan Kronos' armies. I am one of the Seven, receiver of the Mark of Athena, destroyer of Arachne, retriever of the Athena Parthenos, survivor of Tartarus, and defeater of Gaea. I am a Heroine of Olympus." Students looked at Annabeth in admiration as she walked back to Percy. Hers was the longest amount of titles yet. Reyna and Thalia stepped up. They'd wanted to do theirs together.

Thalia spoke first. "I'm Thalia, Greek daughter of Zeus, god of the sky and King of Olympus. I am also the Lieutenant to the Hunters of Artemis, which means that I'm immortal. I'm a Heroine of Olympus. I also have many titles, but I can't be bothered to remember them all right now, so just know that crossing me and my friends is a bad idea. If you do, well…" She shot lightning onto the ground in front of her. The spectators flinched.

It was Reyna's turn. "I am Reyna, daughter of Bellona, Roman goddess of war. I am a Praetor of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata. I fought in the Second Titan War and the Second Giant War. I'm a Heroine of Olympus. My powers as a daughter of Bellona is telumkinesis, which is the ability to summon and manipulate weapons." She took out her dagger, and threw it across the room. It carved into the wall. Then, Reyna held out her hand, and her Imperial gold dagger went flying to her.

They began to walk back into line until someone said, "What's your last names?"

They turned back and sent death glares at the person who had asked the question. They paled. "We don't use them." Then, Reyna walked back into line, her cape flowing in the air, with Thalia beside her.

It was my turn. I walked up to the front of the stage. I looked out at the crowd, and Luna's face stood out to me. We'd gotten to be pretty good friends over the last month, and I'd trusted her enough to tell her my secrets, even the one about Percy, when I hadn't even told my own sister. Luna smiled at me in reassurance. I began to speak.

"I am Nico Di Angelo, Greek son of Hades, one of the Big Three, the god of the Underworld and the dead, alter ego of Pluto, god of wealth and riches. I am the Ghost King, and the Ambassador of Pluto. I am the counselor of Cabin Thirteen, led the dead to Mount Olympus to help defeat the armies of Kronos, played a part in the resealing of Gaea, primordial of the Earth and the mother of the Giants and Titans in the Second Giant War. I fought in the Battle of the Labyrinth in Camp Half-Blood against Kronos' army. I am the only living son of Hades." I raised my arms abruptly, and the stones at my feet cracked. Skeletons burst through the ground, and they hurried to obey me, their master. I called for the ghosts of Hogwarts to come to me, and together with the skeletons, they bowed to me. I commanded the shadows to come and envelop everyone in the room in darkness. They obeyed, and the room became dark as night. The witches and wizards screamed in fright, and they tried to cast Lumos spells, but of course the shadows were stronger. After a few minutes, I called everything off, exhausted. The skeletons returned to the ground, the ghosts flew out of the room, and the shadows returned to where they belonged. The wandholders looked at me in fear and horror, and Luna mouthed to me, "Good job, even Blibbering Humdingers (whatever that was) listened to you!" I walked back in line. Jason was next.

"I'm Jason Grace, Roman son of Jupiter, the god of the sky, alter ego of Zeus, Champion of Juno, the queen of marriage, Queen of Olympus, and the younger brother of Thalia. I am Counselor of Cabin One. I was a former Praetor of the Twelfth Legion and former leader of the Fifth Cohort. I toppled the black throne of Kronos and defeated the Titan Krios, the Giant Enceladus, and the Trojan Sea Monster." Jason began to control the air currents around them. They lifted him up, and he flew in the air. Students looked at him enviously. Then, the air currents brought Jason to the ground. "As a son of Jupiter, I can control and manipulate the air, weather, thunder and lightning." He stepped back into the line. Percy stepped up to the front.

"Best is for last, am I right?" Percy exclaimed happily. I rolled my eyes and smiled. "I am Percy Jackson, Greek son of Poseidon, the god of the sea, earthquakes and destruction, one of the Big Three, alter ego of Neptune. At twelve, I slayed the Minotaur, broke into the Underworld, and beat Ares, god of war, in a battle to the death. At thirteen, I sailed and navigated the Sea of Monsters, and retrieved the Golden Fleece from the Cyclop Polyphemus' cave. At fourteen, I bore the weight of the sky and fought the Titan Atlas, killed the Nemean Lion, navigated the Labyrinth, witnessed the fading of Pan, god of the wild, and fought against Kronos' army in the Battle of the Labyrinth. At sixteen, I fulfilled the first Great Prophecy, defeated Kronos and his fellow Titans in the Battle of Manhattan, swam in the River Styx to gain the Curse of Achilles, invulnerability, and was offered godhood, which I refused. I restored the Legion's Crown to Camp Jupiter, destroyed the Giant Polybotes, and embarked on the quest for the Seven of the Great Prophecy to put Gaea, the primordial of the Earth, back to sleep. I am the Savior of Olympus, former Praetor of the Twelfth Legion, one of the Seven, and Hero of Olympus." Percy turned around, faced the windows, and held his hand out to them. I heard the sound of water rushing. The water from the Great Lake burst through the open windows, and filled the _entire_ Great Hall. Percy had enveloped everyone in air bubbles. Then, Percy held his arms to his sides, and the water receded back to the lake. Students looked at Percy in amazement at his powers. "As a son of Poseidon, I can control every form and amount of water. I can also summon storms, generate earthquakes and lightning, and control and manipulate poison." Percy walked back into the line. Everyone in the Hall except the demigods looked at Percy in admiration. He was obviously the most powerful out of everyone here, no offense!

Dumbledore walked up to the stage. "We are in the presence of some very powerful demigods. The most powerful currently living, in fact."

"Frank Zhang, son of war. Hazel Levesque, daughter of riches. Leo Valdez, son of fire. Piper McLean, daughter of love. Annabeth Chase, daughter of wisdom. Reyna, daughter of war. Thalia, daughter of the sky." Hearing their names, each of them stepped up to the front of the stage.

"Jason Grace, son of the sky." The students applauded him loudly.

Nico Di Angelo, son of the dead, the Ghost King." The students clapped in fear, but Luna was cheering me on, so I wasn't bothered.

Percy Jackson, son of the sea, Savior of the World, and the most powerful demigod currently living." The Great Hall exploded in noise, and Percy was given a standing ovation. I think he started to deny deserving it, but wasn't heard over the applause.

We then bowed at Dumbledore's instruction. If the roof was still there, the witches and wizards would've brought it crashing down.

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**Wow, thanks everyone who has reviewed, favorited and followed! Over 40+ in all of those! Thank you so much!**

**The 10th chapter is done! Wow, this took a long time for me to write. Now that I think about it, it might've been too much at once but...oh well. An introduction was needed. Hopefully the characters weren't too OOC.**

**Tomorrow, the 11th chapter is out, and it's going to finally be the selection of the champions! I hope you enjoyed the 10th chapter of the Godly TriWizard Tournament!**


	11. Chapter 11: The Halloween Feast

Chapter 11: The Halloween Feast

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and Heroes of Olympus.**

Harry's POV:

After we ate lunch, Ron, Hermione and I left the Great Hall. The demigods had went back to their dorm, because they had used a large amount of energy in their performance. When we stepped into the entrance hall, I could see the Goblet of Fire placed in the center on the stool that normally bore the Sorting Hat. A thin golden line had been traced on the floor, forming a circle ten feet around it in every direction. There was a crowd of people watching the Goblet of Fire, and whoever had decided to enter their name.

"Anyone put their name in yet?" Ron asked a third-year girl eagerly. She answered, "All the Durmstrang lot. But I haven't seen anyone from Hogwarts yet."

"Bet some of them put it in last night after we'd all gone to bed. I would've if it had been me…wouldn't have wanted everyone watching. What if the goblet gobbed you right back out again?" I said.

Someone laughed behind me. Turning, I saw Fred, George, Lee Jordan, and the two twins from Camp Half-Blood hurrying down the staircase, all five of them looking extremely excited. They had all become good friends in the last month, considering how alike they were.

"Done it," Fred said in a triumphant whisper to Ron, Hermione and I. "Just taken it."

"What?" said Ron.

"The Aging Potion, dung brain." Fred smacked his brother's head.

"One drop for only the three of us, because Travis and Conner are of old enough for the age limit for the demigods," they looked at the twins enviously. "We just need to be a few months older."

"We're going to split the thousand Galleons between the five of us if one of us wins," said Lee, grinning broadly.

"I'm not sure this is going to work, you know," Hermione said warningly. "I'm sure Dumbledore will have thought of this."

The five of them ignored her. They began to walk towards the Goblet of Fire, and paused right in front of the Age Line.

"Ready?" Fred said to the other four, quivering in excitement. "C'mon, then – I'll go first -"

I watched, fascinated, as Fred pulled a slip of parchment out of his pocket baring the words _Fred Weasley – Hogwarts. _The eyes of every person in the entrance hall upon him, he took a great breath and stepped over the line.

For a split second I thought it had worked – George certainly thought so, for he let out a yell of triumph and leapt after Fred – but next moment, there was a large sizzling sound, and the two of them were hurled out of the golden circle as though they had been thrown by an invisible shot-putter. They landed painfully, ten feet away on the stone cold floor, and to add insult to injury, there was a loud popping noise, and both of them sprouted identical long white beards.

The entrance hall rang with laughter. Even Fred and George joined in, once they had gotten to their feet and taken a good look at each other's beards.

"I did warn you," said a deep, amused voice, and everyone turned to see Professor Dumbledore coming out of the Great Hall. He surveyed Fred and George, his eyes twinkling. "I suggest you both go up to Madam Pomfrey. She is already tending to Miss Fawcett, of Ravenclaw, and Mr. Summers, of Hufflepuff, both of whom decided to age themselves up a little too. Though I must say, neither of their beards is anything as fine as yours."

Fred and George set off for the hospital wing, accompanied by Lee, Travis and Conner, who were howling with laughter.

**[TIME SKIP TO HALLOWEEN FEAST]**

When Ron, Hermione and I entered the Great Hall, we noticed that the decorations had changed to fit the occasion. As it was Halloween, a cloud of live bats was fluttering around the enchanted ceiling, while hundreds of carved pumpkins leered from every corner. I noticed that the Goblet of Fire had been moved; it was now standing in front of Dumbledore's empty chair at the teacher's table. I led the way over to the Gryffindor table. Fred and George – clean-shaven again – seemed to have taken their disappointment fairly well. I sat down next to my demigod friends who were discussing who they thought would be the champions of Camps Half-Blood and Jupiter.

"I think Percy's going to be the champion for Half-Blood, and Jason for Jupiter. They _are_ the leaders of their camp. But I would be a _fantastic _choice too!" Leo grinned, and Piper punched him. "Sure Valdez, sure."

The Halloween feast seemed to take much longer than usual. Perhaps because it was their second feast in two days. I didn't seem to fancy the extravagantly prepared food as much as I would have usually. Like everyone in the Hall, judging by the constant fidgeting, and the standing up to see whether Dumbledore had finished eating yet, I simply wanted the plates to clear, and to hear who had been selected as champions.

At long last, the golden plates returned to their original spotless state; there was a sharp upswing of in the level of noise within the Hall, which died away almost instantly as Dumbledore got to his feet. Next to him, Professor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime and Chiron looked as tense and expectant as anyone. Ludo Bagman was beaming and winking at various students. Mr. Crouch, however, looked quite uninterested, almost bored.

"Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision," said Dumbledore. "I estimate that it requires one more minute. Now, when the champions' names are called, I would ask them please to come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through the next chamber" – he indicated the door behind the staff table – "where they will be receiving their first instructions."

Dumbledore took out his wand and gave a great sweeping wave with it; at once, all the candles except those inside the pumpkins were extinguished, plunging them into a state of semidarkness. The Goblet of Fire now shone more brightly than anything in the whole Hall, the sparkling bright, bluey-whiteness of the flames almost painful on the eyes. Everyone watched, waiting…a few people kept checking their watches…

"Any second," I heard Lee Jordan whisper.

The flames inside the goblet turned suddenly red. Sparks began to fly from it. Next moment, a tongue of flame shot into the air, a charred piece of parchment fluttered out of it, and the whole room gasped.

Dumbledore caught the piece of parchment and held it at arm's length, so that he could read it by the light of the flames, which had turned back to blue-white.

"The champion for Durmstrang," he read, in a strong, clear voice, "will be Viktor Krum."

"No surprises there!" Ron yelled as a storm of applause and cheering swept the Hall. I saw Viktor Krum rise from the Slytherin table and slouch up toward Dumbledore; he turned right, walked along the staff table, and disappeared through the door into the next chamber.

"Bravo, Viktor!" Karkaroff boomed, so loudly that everyone could hear him, even over all the applause. "I knew you had it in you!"

The clapping and chatting died down. Now everyone's attention against focused again on the goblet, which, seconds later, turned red once more. A second piece of parchment shot out of it, propelled by the flames.

Dumbledore read the piece of parchment. He said, "The champion for Camp Jupiter is Reyna Avila-Ramirez Arellano!" Hearing Reyna's name called, Jason looked a bit disappointed, but he joined the Roman demigods who were cheering on for her loudly as she walked up to the front of the Hall. She warned Dumbledore for using her last name, and he apologized, his blue eyes twinkling. After their exchange, Reyna strode through the door into the next chamber, her purple cape fluttering behind her.

Again, the Goblet of Fire turned red. Sparks were emitted from the flames, and a long flame shot into the air, and from the top of it Dumbledore grasped a slip of paper. "The champion for Beauxbatons," said Dumbledore, "is Fleur Delacour!"

The veela girl from Beauxbatons got up gracefully on her feet, shook her sheet of silvery blonde hair, sneaked a smirk towards Piper's direction, and swept up between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables.

"Oh look, they're all disappointed," Hermione said over the noise, nodding towards the remainder of the Beauxbatons party. I looked at them. "Disappointed" was an understatement, in my opinion. Two of the girls who had not been selected had dissolved into tears and were sobbing with their heads on their arms.

When Fleur Delacour had also vanished into the side chamber, silence fell again, but this time it was a silence so stiff with excitement you could almost taste it.

The flames turned red, sparks flew, and a tongue of flame shot a slip of parchment into the air. Dumbledore reached for the paper, and read, "The champion of Camp Half-Blood is Percy Jackson!"

The entire Hall exploded with cheers and applause. Everyone cheered Percy on from the bottom of their hearts (except Slytherin, they have none), the demigods the hardest. It took a very long time for Dumbledore to be able to be heard over the crowd.

After the Great Hall had become silent again, the Goblet of Fire repeated its process for the last time (or so they thought). The Goblet of Fire turned red; sparks showered out of it; the tongue of flame shot high into the air, and from its tip Dumbledore pulled the fifth piece of parchment.

"The Hogwarts champion," he called, "is Cedric Diggory!"

"No!" Ron said loudly, but nobody heard him except Hermione and I; the uproar from the next table was too great. Every single Hufflepuff had jumped to his or her feet, screaming and stamping, as Cedric made his way past them, grinning broadly, and headed off towards the chamber behind the teacher's table. Indeed, the applause for Cedric went on for a long time (but nowhere as long as Percy's), before Dumbledore could make himself heard again.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore called happily as at last the tumult died down. "Well, we now have our five champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students and demigods from Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, Camp Half-Blood, and Camp Jupiter, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real -"

But Dumbledore suddenly stopped speaking, and it was apparent to everybody what had distracted him.

The fire in the goblet had just turned red again. Sparks were flying out of it. A long flame shot suddenly into the air, and borne upon it was another piece of parchment.

Automatically, it seemed, Dumbledore reached out a long hand and seized the parchment. He held it out and stared at the name written upon it. There was a long pause, during which Dumbledore stared at the slip in his hands, and everyone in the room stared at Dumbledore. And then Dumbledore cleared his throat and read out –

"_Harry Potter._"

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**The 11****th**** chapter is done! I hope you guys liked it ^.^ It was fun to write!**

**Tomorrow, Chapter 12 is out! I hope you enjoyed the 11****th**** chapter of the Godly TriWizard Tournament!**


	12. Chapter 12: The Six Champions!

Chapter 12: The Six Champions?!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and Heroes of Olympus.**

Percy's POV:

The five of us waited patiently in the chamber behind the staff table. I wondered how long they would take, because there wasn't going to be much to do at the feast after the champions were selected.

The door opened. In the doorway was Harry. Fleur looked around when Harry walked in and threw back her sheet of long, silvery hair. She said, "What is it? Do zey want us back in ze Hall?" She'd though he had come to deliver a message. Harry didn't seem to know how to explain what had happened in the Hall. Then, I remembered that the room was only for champions, which meant that he had somehow gotten selected! But _how?_

There was a sound of scurrying feet behind Harry, and Ludo Bagman entered the room. He took Harry by the arm and led him forward.

"Extraordinary!" he muttered, squeezing Harry's arm. "Absolutely extraordinary! Ladies and gentlemen," he said, approaching the five of them. "May I introduce – incredible though it may seem – the _sixth _champion!

Viktor Krum straightened up. His surly face darkened as he surveyed Harry. Cedric looked nonplussed (yes, I know big words). He looked from Bagman to Harry and back again as though sure he must have misheard what Bagman had said. Reyna had no reaction. Fleur Delacour, however, tossed her hair, smiling, and said, "Oh, vairy funny joke, Meester Bagman."

"Joke?" Bagman repeated, bewildered. He then voiced my fear. "No, no, not at all! Harry's name just came out of the Goblet of Fire!" Our quest had just gotten harder. Dumbledore had specifically asked for students not of age to enter, so it was obviously too dangerous for him to participate. How would I protect him when we're supposed to be enemies in the tournament?

Krum's thick eyebrows contracted slightly. Cedric was still looking politely bewildered. Reyna looked worried (she knew about our quest, of course, being Praetor). Fleur frowned.

"But evidently zair 'as been a mistake," she said to Bagman with contempt. "'E cannot compete. 'E is too young."

"Well…it is amazing." Bagman said, rubbing his smooth chin and smiling down at Harry. "But, as you know, the age restriction was only imposed this year as an extra safety measure. And as his name's come out of the goblet…I mean, I don't think there can be any ducking out at this stage…It's down in the rules, you're obliged…Harry will just have to do his best he -"

The door behind Bagman and Harry opened again, and a large group of people came in: Professor Dumbledore, followed closely by Mr. Crouch, Professor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, Chiron, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Snape. I heard the buzzing of the hundreds of students on the other side of the wall, before Professor McGonagall closed the door.

"Madame Maxime!" said Fleur at once, striding over to her headmistress. "Zey are saying zat zis little boy is to compete also!" Under Harry's face of disbelief I noticed anger at her words.

The half-giantess had drawn herself up to her full, and considerable, height. The top of her handsome head brushed the candle-filled chandelier, and her gigantic bosom swelled. (**Can't believe that's in the book OMG LOL**).

"What is ze meaning of zis, Dumbly-dorr?" she said imperiously.

"I'd like to know that myself, Dumbledore," said Professor Karkaroff. He was wearing a steely smile, and his blue eyes were like chips of ice. "_Two _Hogwarts champions? I don't remember someone telling me the host school is allowed two champions – or have I not read the rules carefully enough?" He gave a short and nasty laugh.

"_C'est impossible_," said Madame Maxime said, whose enormous hand with its many superb opals was resting upon Fleur's shoulder. "'Ogwarts cannot 'ave two champions. It is most unjust."

"We were under the impression that your Age Line would keep out younger contestants, Dumbledore," Karkaroff said, his steely smile still in place, though his eyes were colder than ever. "Otherwise, we would, of course, have brought a wider selection of candidates from our own schools."

I looked at Chiron, who had not spoken yet. He was thinking very hard about this situation.

"It's no one's fault but Potter's, Karkaroff," Snape said softly. His black eyes were alight with malice, similar to Hades'. "Don't go blaming Dumbledore for Potter's determination to break rules. He has been crossing lines ever since he arrived here –"

"Thank you, Severus," Dumbledore firmly stated, and Snape went quiet, though his eyes still glinted malevolently through his curtain of greasy black hair. Dumbledore was now looking down at Harry, who looked right back at him, trying to discern the expression of the eyes behind the half-moon spectacles.

"Did you put your name into the Goblet of Fire, Harry?" he asked calmly.

"No," Harry answered, aware of everybody watching him closely. Just like I suspected, I thought. Someone entered for him. Snape made a very soft noise of impatient disbelief in the shadows.

"Did you ask an older student to put it in the Goblet of Fire for you?" Dumbledore inquired, ignoring Snape.

"_No_," Harry replied angrily.

"Ah, but of course 'e is lying!" cried Madame Maxime. Snape was now shaking his head, his lip curling.

"He could have not crossed the Age Line," Professor McGonagall said sharply. "I am sure we are all agreed on that –"

"Dumbly-dorr must 'ave made a mistake wiz ze line," Madame Maxime shrugged.

"It is possible, of course." He said politely.

"Dumbledore, you know perfectly well you did not make a mistake!" Professor McGonagall yelled. "What nonsense, really! Harry could not have crossed the line himself, and as Professor Dumbledore believes that he did not persuade an older student to do it for him, I'm sure that should be good enough for everybody else!" She shot a very angry look at Snape.

"Mr. Crouch…Mr. Bagman," said Karkaroff, his voice unctuous once more, "you are our – er — objective judges. Surely you will agree this is most irregular?"

Bagman wiped his round, boyish face with his handkerchief and looked at Mr. Crouch, who was standing outside the circle of the firelight, his face half hidden in the shadows. He looked slightly eerie, the semidarkness making him look much older, giving him an almost skull-like appearance. When he spoke, however, it was in his usual curt voice.

"We must follow the rules, and the rules clearly state that those whose names come out of the Goblet of Fire are bound to compete in the tournament."

"Well, Barty knows the rule book back to front," said Bagman, beaming and turning back to Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime, as though the matter was now closed.

"I insist upon resubmitting the names of the rest of my students," said Karkaroff. He had dropped his unctuous tone and his smile now. Instead, he wore a very ugly look. "You will set up the Goblet of Fire once more, and we will continue adding names until each school has two champions. It's only fair, Dumbledore."

"But Karkaroff, it doesn't work like that," said Bagman. "The Goblet of Fire's just gone out – it won't reignite until the start of the next tournament-"

"—in which Durmstrang will most certainly not be competing!" exploded Karkaroff. "After all our meetings and negotiations and compromises, I little expected something of this nature to occur! I have half a mind to leave now!"

"Empty threat, Karkaroff," growled a voice from near the door. "You can't leave your champion now. He's got to compete. They've all got to compete. Binding magical contract, like Dumbledore said. Convenient, eh?"

Moody had just entered the room. He limped toward the fire, and with every right step he took, there was a loud _clunk_.

"Convenient?" said Karkaroff. "I'm afraid I don't understand you, Moody."

I could tell that he was trying to sound hateful, as though what Moody was saying was barely worth his time, but his hands gave him away; they had balled themselves into fists.

"Don't you?" Moody murmured. "It's very simple, Karkaroff. Someone put Potter's name in that goblet knowing he'd have to compete if it came out."

"Evidently, someone 'oo wished to give 'Ogwarts two bites at ze apple!" Madame Maxime exclaimed.

"I quite agree, Madame Maxime," Karkaroff said, bowing to her. "I shall be lodging complaints with the Ministry of Magic _and _the International Confederation of Wizards -"

"If anyone's got reason to complain, it's Potter," growled Moody, "but…funny thing…I don't hear _him_ saying a word…"

"Why should 'e complain?" burst out Fleur Delacour, stamping her foot. "'E 'as ze chance to compete, 'asn't 'e? We 'ave all been 'oping to be chosen for weeks and weeks! Ze honor for our schools! A thousand Galleons in prize money – zis is a chance many would die for!"

"Maybe someone's hoping Potter _is _going to die for it," said Moody, with the merest trace if a growl. Hearing that, Reyna and I shared a look.

"That's very likely. Being a demigod, our enemies would go great lengths to kill us." Reyna reasoned.

"We all know Professor Moody considers the morning wasted if he hasn't discovered six plots to murder him before lunchtime. And who would want to kill him? He's perfectly safe." Karkaroff said.

"Imagining things, am I?" growled Moody. "Seeing things, eh? It must have been a skilled witch or wizard who put the boy's name in that goblet, because they hoodwinked a very powerful magical object! It would've needed an exceptionally strong Confundus Charm to bamboozle that goblet into forgetting that only five groups competed in the tournament this year…I'm guessing they submitted Potter's name under a sixth group, to make sure he was the only one in his category…" There was a hint of pride in his voice, but why, I didn't know.

"You seem to have given this a great deal of thought, Moody," Karkaroff said coldly, "and a very ingenious theory it is – though of course, I heard you recently got it in your head that one of birthday presents contained a cunningly disguised basilisk egg, and smashed it to pieces before realizing it was a carriage clock. So you'll understand if we don't take you seriously…"

"There are those who'll turn innocent occasions to their advantage," Moody retorted in a menacing voice. "It's my job to think the way Dark wizards do, Karkaroff – as you ought to remember…"

"Alastor!" Dumbledore said warningly. I wondered for a moment who he was speaking to, but then realized "Mad-Eye" couldn't be Moody's real first name. Moody fell silent, though still surveying Karkaroff with satisfaction – Karkaroff's face was still red.

"How this situation arose, we do not know," said Dumbledore, speaking to everyone gathered in the room. "It seems to me, however, that we have no choice but to accept it. Both Cedric and Harry have been chosen to compete in the tournament. This, therefore, they will do…"

"Ah, but Dumblydorr—" Madame Maxime began. Dumbledore interrupted her, saying, "My dear Madame Maxime, if you have an alternative, I would be delighted to hear it."

Dumbledore waited, but Madame Maxime did not speak, she merely glared. She wasn't the only one either. Snape looked furious; Karkaroff livid; Bagman, however, looked rather excited.

"Well, shall we crack on, then?" he said, rubbing his hands together and smiling around the room. "Got to give our champions their instructions, haven't we? Barty, do the honors?"

Mr. Crouch seemed to come out of his own, little world.

"Yes," he said, "instructions. Yes…the first task…"

He moved forward in the firelight. Close up, I thought he looked sick. There were dark shadows beneath his eyes and a think, papery look about his wrinkled skin that had not been there before.

"The first task is designed to test your daring," he told the six of us, "so we are not going to be telling you what it is. Courage in the face of the unknown is an important quality in a wizard or demigod…very important…"

"The first task will take place on November the twenty-fourth, in front of the other students and demigods, and the panel of judges. The champions are not permitted to ask for help of any kind from their teachers to complete the task in the tournament." So, we can ask our very smart girlfriends? I grinned. Reyna noticed and rolled her eyes, guessing what I was thinking.

"The champions will face the first challenge armed only with their wands or choice of weapon. They will receive information about the second task when the first is over. Owing to the demanding and time-consuming of the tournament, the champions are exempted from end-of-the-year tests." Mr. Crouch then turned to look at Dumbledore, and asked, "I think that's all, is it, Albus?"

"I think so," answered Dumbledore, who was looking at Crouch with mild concern. "Are you sure you wouldn't like to stay at Hogwarts tonight, Barty?"

"No, Dumbledore, I must get back to the Ministry," Mr. Crouch said. "It is a very busy, very difficult time at the moment…I've left young Weatherby in charge…Very enthusiastic…a little overenthusiastic, if truth be told…"

"You'll come and have a drink before you go, at least?" said Dumbledore.

"Come one, Barty, I'm staying!" Bagman exclaimed. "It's all happening at Hogwarts, now, you know, much more exciting here than at the office!"

"I think not, Ludo." Crouch said with a touch of his old impatience.

"Professor Karkaroff – Madame Maxime – Chiron – nightcap?" said Dumbledore.

But Madame Maxime had already put her arm around Fleur's shoulders and was leading her swiftly out of the room. We heard them both talking very fast in French as they went off into the Great Hall. Karkaroff beckoned to Krum, and they exited, though in silence. Following them, Chiron, Reyna and I too left the chamber.

The students had all already left the Great Hall by now. Chiron, Reyna I walked back to the dorm.

"So, how are we going to complete our quest now? It's even harder than it had to be, seeing Harry's in the tournament. Do you think Voldemort somehow entered his name?" All these questions spilled out of my mouth.

"This quest will be more difficult than it seemed. We can't fully protect Harry, seeing we can't help him. Just keep an eye out for him at all times." He said. "I don't know, Percy, if Voldemort did. But, it's plausible, and the only reason why Harry could've been entered."

"Harry definitely isn't lying. Even without Argentum and Aurum, I can notice lies when I hear them. If I were to suspect someone…it would be Moody. Percy and I noticed when he was 'guessing' who would've put his name in the Goblet of Fire, and how they would've tricked it. It was too descripted. Plus, there was a hint of pride in his voice. Why would it be there, unless he was the one who did it?" Reyna said.

Chiron nodded. "Good reasoning! You two should also keep watch of him. Now, go rest. It's been a long day." We'd arrived at the door to our dorm. I took out my key, unlocked the door, and opened it. Chiron went to the archery targets. Reyna headed to the room specifically for various demigods of different percentages and I walked into my room. Walking over to my bed, I laid down, and fell asleep.

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**The 12th chapter is finished! It took a lot longer for me to write than I thought it would ._. **

**The 13th chapter will be up tomorrow! I hope you enjoyed the 12th chapter of the Godly TriWizard Tournament!**


	13. Chapter 13: Weapon Inspection

Chapter 13: Weapon Inspection

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and Heroes of Olympus.**

Percy's POV:

The next few days were torture for Harry. Being his friend and protector, I felt worried for him, but there wasn't much that I could do for Harry. His own best friend didn't believe that he didn't enter himself in the tournament, and was filled with envy. The Hufflepuffs felt betrayed by Harry, feeling that he stole Cedric's limelight, by also being a Hogwarts champion. The Ravenclaws seemed to think that Harry had been desperate to earn himself a bit more fame by tricking the goblet to accept his name. The Slytherins were shunning and insulting him by wearing flashing badges that read "Support Cedric Diggory – the REAL Hogwarts Champion!" and "Potter stinks!" He really didn't deserve it. But, as his friend, I solved one issue. When Hermione told me of Harry and Ron's split, I took it to as my job to set Ron straight. With the help of Thalia and Nico, we succeeded (we totally didn't threaten him if he wouldn't forgive Harry), and Ron was back by Harry's side. It seemed to boost Harry's mood by a lot.

I yawned, bored. Since all of the demigods were all here, the nine of us had a vote on whether we would still attend classes with Harry. Of course, Annabeth was outvoted by the rest of us. I felt sorry for my Wise Girl, but learning was agony for my brain.

There was a knock at the door. I got up from the couch and opened the door. It was Luna Lovegood, Nico's friend from Ravenclaw.

"Hello, Percy. I'm supposed to take you and Reyna to a room downstairs. It's something for the tournament." She said.

"Okay. Thanks, Luna." I left her waiting in the doorway. I walked to the room that the various demigods lived in. Knocking on the door, I said, "Reyna! They need you and me for something for the tournament!"

Instantly, she walked out of the room. Her hair was wet and tied up with a towel, so I'm guessing she'd just got out of the bathroom. I reached out my hand to her hair, and using my powers, dried it. She gave me a thankful look, took the towel out of her hair, and put it in her usual braid. Seeing that she was ready, I walked towards Luna. Reyna followed me.

"Ok, let's go!"

Luna led us downstairs and turned right. After we walked straight for half a minute, we arrived. Luna wished us good luck, and left. Reyna and I entered. It was a pretty small classroom; most of the desks had been pushed away to the back of the room, leaving a large space in the middle of them; four of them, however, had been placed end-to-end in front of the blackboard and covered with a long cloth. Seven chairs had been set behind the desks, and Ludo Bagman was sitting in one of them, talking to a witch I hadn't seen before, who was wearing magenta robes.

Viktor Krum was standing moodily in a corner as usual and not talking to anybody. Cedric and Fleur were in conversation. Fleur looked happier than I had ever seen her; she kept throwing back her hair so that it caught in the light. A man with a big belly, holding a large black camera that was smoking slightly, was watching Fleur out of the corner of his eye.

Suddenly, Bagman got up quickly and bounded forward to the door. I saw what he was so excited for. Harry had finally arrived.

"Ah, here he is! Champion number six! In you come, Harry, in you come…nothing to worry about, we're just checking your weapons of choice, the rest of the judges will be here in a moment -" Harry asked why. "We have to check that your weapons are fully functional, no problems, you know, as they're your most important tools in the tasks ahead. The expert is upstairs now with Dumbledore. And then there's going to be a little photo shoot. This is Rita Skeeter." He gestured towards the witch in magenta robes. "She's doing a small piece on the tournament for the _Daily Prophet_…"

"Maybe not _that _small, Ludo," said Rita Skeeter, her eyes on Harry.

Her hair was set in elaborate and curiously stiff curls that contrasted oddly with her heavy-jawed face. She wore jeweled glasses. The thick fingers clutching her crocodile-skin handbag ended in two inch nails, painted crimson.

"I wonder if I could have a word with Harry before we start?" she said to Bagman, while still gazing fixedly at Harry. I didn't like the way she looked at Harry. "The youngest champion, you know…to add a bit of color?"

"Certainly!" cried Bagman. "That is – if Harry has no objection?" Harry began to say, "Er –"

"Lovely." Rita Skeeter's hand lashed out, and her fingers clasped Harry's arm in a strong grip. I took his other arm, and pulled him back. This lady seemed to have a suspiciously large interest in Harry. I doubted that she was a monster, but it was our quest to protect Harry.

"He didn't say yes. Which means it's a no." Rita Skeeter shot me an angry look. "Let's ask him. Harry, do you want to have an interview?"

"No, thank you." He said politely. Rita Skeeter let go of Harry's arm. She huffed, and walked away. "Thanks, Percy." I told him that it was no problem.

The other judges finally arrived, who were Professor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, Chiron, Mr. Crouch, Ludo Bagman, Dumbledore, and a man I didn't know. Rita Skeeter settled herself in a corner. We champions sat down at the chairs near the door.

"May I introduce Mr. Ollivander?" Dumbledore said, taking his place at the judges' table and talking to the champions. "He will be checking your wands and weapons to ensure that they are in good condition before the tournament."

"Mademoiselle Delacour, could we have you first, please?" Mr. Ollivander stepped into the empty space in the middle of the room. Fleur swept over to Mr. Ollivander and handed him her wand. "Hmmm…"

He twirled the wand between his two fingers like a baton and it emitted a number of pink and gold sparks. Then he held it close to his eyes and examined closely. Quietly, he said, "Yes, nine and a half inches…inflexible…rosewood…and containing…dear me…"

"An 'air from ze 'ead of a veela," said Fleur. "One of my grandmuzzer's."

"Yes," Ollivander seemed to say yes a lot, I noticed. "Yes, I've never used veela hair myself, of course. I find it makes for rather temperamental wands…however, to each his own, and if it suits you…" Mr. Ollivander ran his fingers along the wand, apparently checking for scratches and bumps; then he muttered, "_Orchideous!_" and a bunch of flowers burst from the wand tip.

"Very well, very well, it's in fine working order," Mr. Ollivander scooped up the flowers and handed them to Fleur with her wand. "Mr. Diggory, you next." Fleur glided back to her seat, smiling at Cedric as he passed her.

"Ah now, this is one of mine, isn't it?" Mr. Ollivander said with much more enthusiasm, as Cedric handed over his wand. "Yes, I remember it well. Containing a single hair from the tail of a particularly fine male unicorn…must have been seventeen hands; nearly gored me with its horn after I plucked its tail. Twelve and a quarter inches…ash…pleasantly springy. It's in fine condition…you treat it regularly?"

"Polished it last night," Cedric grinned. Hearing those words, I watched Harry look down at his wand, gather a fistful of robe from his knee, and try to rub it clean with being noticed. However, several gold sparks shot out of the end, and Fleur gave him a patronizing look. He stopped, and I snickered. Reyna nudged me to be quiet.

Mr. Ollivander sent a stream of silver smoke rings across the room from the tip of Cedric's wand, pronounced himself satisfied, and then said, "Miss Arellano, if you please." She instantly started glaring at him. "I don't use my last name, Mr. Ollivander."

"Oh dear. I'm sorry. Miss Reyna, please show me your weapon of choice." She gave him her Imperial Gold dagger warily. "I do not know much about weapons, but I will try my best to inspect it."

Staring at the dagger closely, he examined it. After a minute, he returned Reyna's dagger. "There seems to be no problems with your dagger, Miss Reyna." Reyna walked back to her chair. "Mr. Jackson, please come here."

I walked up to Ollivander. I took Riptide out of my pocket. I saw Harry staring at it in disbelief that a pen was my weapon. Then, I uncapped Riptide, and my sword appeared in its full bronze glory. Then, I carefully handed it over to Mr. Ollivander. After inspecting my sword for a minute, he returned it. "It seems to be in fine order, Mr. Jackson." I walked back to my chair beside Reyna and Harry, and sat down. "Mr. Krum, if you would please allow me to inspect your wand."

Viktor Krum got up and slouched towards Mr. Ollivander. He thrust out his wand and stood, scowling, with his hands in the pockets of his robes.

"Hmm," said Mr. Ollivander, "this is a Gregorovitch creation, unless I'm much mistaken? A fine wand-maker, though the styling is never quite what I…however…" He lifted the wand and examined it for a minute, turning it over and over before his eyes. "Yes…hornbeam and dragon heartstring?" he shot at Krum, who nodded. "Rather thicker than one usually sees…quite rigid…ten and a quarter inches…_Avis!_" The hornbeam wand let off a blast like a gun, and a number of small, twittering birds flew out of the end and through the open window into the watery sunlight. "Good," he said, handing Krum back his wand. "This leaves…Mr. Potter."

Harry got to his feet and walked past Krum to Mr. Ollivander. He handed over his wand.

"Aaah, yes," Mr. Ollivander's pale eyes suddenly gleaming. "Yes, yes, yes. How well I remember." He spent much longer examining Harry's wand than anyone else's choice of weapon. Eventually, however, he made a fountain of wine shot out of it, and handed it back to Harry, announcing that it was still in perfect condition.

"Thank you all," Dumbledore said, standing up at the judges' table. "You may go back to your lessons or dorm now – or perhaps it would be quicker just to go down to dinner, as they are about to end –"

Immediately, I got up to leave, but the man with the black camera jumped up and cleared his throat.

"Photos, Dumbledore, photos!" Bagman cried excitedly. "All the judges and champions, what do you think, Rita?"

"Er – yes, let's do those first," said Rita Skeeter, whose eyes were upon Harry again. "And then perhaps some individual shots."

The photographs took a long time. Madame Maxime cast everyone else into shadow wherever she stood and the photographer couldn't stand far enough back to get into the frame; eventually she had to sit while everyone stood around her. Karkaroff kept twirling his goatee around his finger to give it and extra curl; Krum, whom I thought would have been used to this kind of thing, skulked, half-hidden, at the back of the group. The photographer seemed earnest to get Fleur at the front, but Rita kept hurrying forward and dragging Harry into places he would stand out the most. Then, she insisted on separate shots of all the champions. Reyna wasn't pleased, but she didn't complain. At last, they were free to go.

* * *

**At last, the 13th chapter is done! I tweaked some things, as you noticed, like Ron being mad at Harry, and Harry's interview with Rita. Reasons being 1) Ron being mad at Harry was infuriating and I'm sure the demigods would want to help Harry get his friend back. 2) Rita wanting to interview Harry so badly was creepy, and Percy wouldn't ignore that (probably). Was that an awkward ending? IDK .**

**In two days, the 14th chapter will be out (the 4th of July is a busy day for me!) I hope you enjoyed the 13th chapter of the Godly TriWizard Tournament!**


	14. Chapter 14: Dragons and Drakons!

Chapter 14: Dragons and Drakons!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and Heroes of Olympus.**

Harry's POV:

Hagrid had told me, "Harry, meet me tonight at midnight at me cabin. Wear that cloak of yeh's." So, at half past eleven that evening, pretending to go up to bed early, I pulled my Invisibility Cloak over myself and crept back downstairs through the common room. Quite a few people were still there. With difficulty, I tiptoed past them to the portrait hole and waited a minute or so, keeping an eye on my watch. Then Hermione and Ron opened the Fat Lady for me from outside as we had planned. I slipped past them, whispered, "Thanks!" and set off through the castle.

The grounds were very dark. I walked down the lawn toward the light's shining in Hagrid's cabin. The inside of the enormous Beauxbatons carriage was also lit up; I could hear Madame Maxime talking inside it as I knocked on Hagrid's front door.

"You there, Harry?" Hagrid whispered, opening the door and looking around.

"Yeah," I said, slipping inside the cabin and pulling the clock down off my head. "What's up?"

"Got summat ter show yeh," Hagrid replied.

There was an air of enormous excitement about Hagrid. He was wearing a flower that resembled an overused artichoke in his buttonhole. It looked as though he had abandoned the use of axle grease, but he had certainly attempted to comb his hair – I could see the comb's broken teeth tangled in it.

"What're you showing me?" I said warily, wondering if the skrewts had laid eggs, or if Hagrid had managed to buy another giant three-headed dog off a stranger in a pub.

"Come with me, keep quiet, an' keep yerself covered with that cloak," said Hagrid. "We won' take Fang, he won' like it…" I answered, "Ok…"

Hagrid opened the cabin door and strode off into the night. I hurried to follow and found, to my great surprise, that Hagrid was leading me to the Beauxbatons carriage.

"Hagrid, what –?"

"Shhh!" Hagrid knocked three times on the door bearing the crossed golden wands.

Madame Maxime opened it. She was wearing a silk shawl wrapped around her massive shoulders. She smiled when she saw Hagrid. "Ah, 'Argid…is it time?"

"Bong-sewer," Hagrid said beaming at her, and holding out a hand to help her down the golden steps.

Madame Maxime closed the door behind her, Hagrid offered her his arm, and they set off around the edge of the paddock containing Madame Maxime's giant winged horses, with me, totally bewildered, running to keep up with them. Had Hagrid wanted to show me Madame Maxine? I could see her any old time I wanted…she wasn't exactly hard to miss…

But it seemed that Madame Maxime was in for the same treat as me, because after a while she said playfully, "Wair is it you are taking me, 'Agrid?"

"Yeh'll enjoy this," Hagrid said gruffly, "worth seein', trust me. On'y – don' go tellin' anyone I showed yeh, right? Yeh're not s'posed ter know."

"Of course not," Madame Maxime fluttered her long eyelashes. Gross! I felt like I was going to vomit.

And still we walked, I getting more and more irritated as I jogged along their wake, checking my watch every now and then. Hagrid had some harebrained scheme in his hand, and it was taking a long while. If we didn't get there soon, I was going to turn around, go straight back to the castle, and leave Hagrid to enjoy his moonlit stroll with Madame Maxime…

But then – when we had walked so far around the perimeter of the forest that the castle and the lake were out of sight – I heard something. Men were shouting up ahead…then came a deafening, earsplitting roar…

Hagrid led Madame Maxime around a clump of trees and came to a halt. I hurried up alongside them – for a split second, I thought I was seeing bonfires, and men darting around them – and then my mouth fell open.

_Dragons. _

There were six of them in all. Four of them were fully grown, enormous, vicious-looking dragons were rearing onto the hind legs inside an enclosure fenced with thick planks of wood, roaring and snorting – torrents of fire were shooting into the dark sky from their open, fanged mouths, fifty feet above the ground. There was a silvery-blue one with long, pointed horns, snapping and snarling at the wizards on the ground; a smooth-scaled green one, which was writhing and stamping with all its might; a red one with an odd fringe of gold spikes around its face, which was shooting mushroom-shaped fire clouds into the air; and a gigantic black one, more lizard-like than the others, which was nearest to them. In another enclosure away from us were two more serpent like dragons. One was very beautiful and regal, with green and yellow hide, like sunlight through a forest canopy, and eyes that were the same shade of sea green as Percy's. It was as easily as long as an underground train. The other dragon had no legs and crawled like a snake, but it was very fast and had a paralyzing stare that could freeze opponents out of sheer terror. It was over two hundred feet long, and spit out acidic venom at the flying wizards. Its scales looked extremely durable and almost impenetrable.

At least forty-five wizards, seven or eight to each dragon, were attempting to control them, pulling on the chains connected to heavy leather straps around their necks and legs. Mesmerized, I looked up, high above me, and saw the eyes of the black dragon, with vertical pupils like a cat's bulging with either fear or rage, I couldn't tell which…It was making a terrible noise, a yowling, screeching scream.

"Keep back there, Hagrid!" yelled a wizard near the fence, straining on the chain he was holding. "These dragons can shoot fire at a range of twenty feet, you know! I've seen this Horntail do forty!"

"Is'n' it beautiful?" Hagrid said softly.

"It's no good! Especially these Drakons!" yelled another wizard. Drakons? I've never heard of them. They're probably from the demigods' world. "Stunning Spells, on the count of three!"

I saw each of the dragon keepers pull out his wand.

"_Stupefy!_" they shouted in unison, and the Stunning Spells shot into the darkness like fiery rockets, bursting in showers of stars on the dragons' and drakons' scaly hides –

I watched the dragon nearest to us teeter dangerously on its back legs; its jaws stretched wide in a silent howl; its nostrils were suddenly devoid of flame, though still smoking – then, very slowly, it fell. Several tons of sinewy, scaly-black dragon hit the ground with a thud that I could've sworn made the trees behind me quake.

The dragon keeps lowered their wands and walked forward to their fallen charges. They hurried to tighten the chains and fasten them securely to iron pegs, which they forced deep into the ground with their wands.

"Wan' a closer look?" Hagrid asked Madame Maxime excitedly. The pair of them moved right up to the fence, and I followed. The wizard who had warned Hagrid not to come any closer turned, and I realized who it was: Charlie Weasley.

"All right, Hagrid?" he panted, coming over to talk. "They should be okay now – we put them out with a Sleeping Draught on the way here, thought it might be better for them to wake up in the dark and the quiet – but, like you saw, they weren't happy, not happy at all –"

"What breeds have you got here, Charlie?" Hagrid gazed at the closest dragon, the black one, with something close to reverence. Its eyes were still open. I could see a strip of gleaming yellow beneath its wrinkled black eyelid.

"In this pen is a Hungarian Horntail," said Charlie. "Common Welsh Green, the smaller dragon – a Swedish Short-Snout, that blue-gray – and a Chinese Fireball, that's the red. In the other pen are two Drakons. The yellow-green one is the Maeonian Drakon. The other one is a Lydian Drakon. Those two are nasty business. We went to great lengths to get them, and when the first task is over, we'll return them to where they belong." Hagrid's eyes began to shine. "Being involved with those Drakons is a bad idea, Hagrid." Charlie had noticed Hagrid's expression. Good thing, too.

Charlie looked around; Madame Maxime was strolling away around the edge of the enclosure, gazing at the stunned dragons and drakons.

"I didn't know you were bringing her, Hagrid." Charlie frowned. "The champions aren't supposed to know what's coming – she's bound to tell her student, isn't she?"

"Jus' thought she'd like ter see 'em." Hagrid shrugged, still gazing enraptured, at the dragons and drakons.

"Really romantic date, Hagrid," Charlie shook his head.

"Six…" Hagrid said. "so it's one fer each o' the champions, is it? What've they gotta do – fight 'em?"

"Just get past them, I think," Charlie answered. "We'll be on hand if it gets nasty, Extinguishing Spells at the ready. They wanted nesting mothers, I don't why…but I tell you this, I don't envy the one who gets the Horntail or a drakon. Vicious things."

Five of Charlie's fellow keepers staggered up to the Horntail at that moment, carrying a clutch of huge granite-gray eggs between them in a blanket. They placed them carefully at the Horntail's side. Hagrid let out a moan of longing.

"I've got them counted, Hagrid." Charlie said sternly. Then he said, "How's Harry?"

"Fine," Hagrid said. He was still staring at the eggs.

"Just hope he's still fine after he's faced this lot," said Charlie grimly, looking out over the dragons' enclosure. "I didn't dare tell Mum what he's got to do for the first task; she's already having kittens about him…" Charlie imitated his mother's anxious voice. "_How could they let him enter that tournament, he's much too young! I thought they were all safe, I thought there was going to be an age limit! Poor Harry, he's not ready to do something like this at his age! It's much too difficult!"_

I had had enough. Trusting the fact that Hagrid wouldn't miss me, with the attractions of four dragons, two drakons and Madame Maxime to occupy him, I turned silently and began to walk away, back to the castle. I didn't know where I was glad that I'd seen what was coming or not. Perhaps this way was better. The first shock was over now. Maybe if I'd seen the dragons on the first time on Tuesday, I would've passed out cold in front of the whole school…but maybe I would anyway…I was going to be armed with my wand – which, just now, felt like nothing more than a narrow strip of wood – against a fifty-foot high, scaly, spike-ridden, fire-breathing dragon. And I had to get past it. With everyone watching. _How?_

I sped up, skirting the edge of the forest; I wanted to go to bed to feel safe, not thinking about the dragon I could have to face on Tuesday – when, without warning, I ran into something very solid.

I fell backward, my glasses askew, clutching the cloak around me. A voice nearby said, "Ouch! Who's there?"

I hastily checked that the cloak was covering me and lay very still, staring up at the dark outline of the person I had hit. I recognized the goatee…it was Karkaroff.

"Who's there?" Karkaroff said again, very suspiciously, looking around in the darkness. I remained still and silent. After a minute or so, Karkaroff seemed to decide that he had hit some sort of animal; he was looking around at waist height, as though expecting to see a dog. Then he crept back under the cover of the trees and started to edge forward the place where the dragons were.

Very slowly and carefully, I got to my feet and set off again as fast I could without making too much noise, hurrying through the darkness back toward Hogwarts.

I had no doubt whatsoever what Karkaroff was up to. He had sneaked off his ship to try and find out what the first task was going to be, He might even have spotter Hagrid and Madame Maxime heading off around the forest together – the were hardly difficult to spot in the distance…and now all Karkaroff had to do was follow the sound of voices, and he, like Madame Maxime, would know what was in store for the champions.

By the looks of it, the only champions who would be facing the unknown on Tuesday was Cedric, Percy and Reyna.

I reached the castle, slipped in through the front doors, and began to climb up the stairs; I was very out of breath, but I didn't slow down. I gasped at the Fat Lady who was snoozing in her frame in front of the portrait hole, "Balderdash!"

"If you say so," she muttered sleepily, without opening her eyes, and the picture swung forward to admit me. I climbed inside. I tiptoed up the stairs, and walked into my dorm. Of course, everyone was already asleep. Ron's and Neville's snores rang through the room. I pulled off my Invisibility Cloak, packed it safely away in my trunk, laid down, and fell asleep, safe and sound, away from the dangers of fighting a dragon.

* * *

**The 14****th**** chapter is here! I hope you liked it :D As you can see, I cut out the part with Sirius. It wasn't going to be that important in this crossover fanfic, so I decided not to write about it I hope you aren't too mad :( Sirius is an awesomeeee character, but I had to cut it out.**

**Chapter 15 will be up on Monday (I can never post on Sunday, btw). I hope you enjoyed the 14****th**** chapter of the Godly TriWizard Tournament!**


	15. Chapter 15: The Key to My Success

Chapter 15: The Key to My Success

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and Heroes of Olympus.**

Percy's POV:

On Sunday morning, after we (the Seven, Thalia, Nico and Reyna) had woken up and eaten a quick breakfast, we walked outside to the grounds and hung out with Harry, Hermione and Ron by the lake. Harry was telling us his new information about the First Task.

"Dragons and drakons are the first task. We have to get through them, and I think we have to get their eggs, because I saw wizards carrying eggs, and the dragons and drakons were all nursing mothers." Harry said. Drakons? I thought. That's not too difficult…but not easy. "Dragons are for the witches and wizards and drakons are for Percy and Reyna, I'm thinking." I groaned. We _would_ have the more difficult ones. Reyna didn't look too nervous about it, of course, being the daughter of a war goddess.

"Dragons? Bloody hell!" Ron yelled. Hermione shot Ron an enraged look, "_Ron!_" "Sorry…"

"I've got some books in my bag on dragons…maybe there's a spell on how to defeat them." Hermione opened her bag, and pulled out four large books that couldn't possibly have fit in her bag. She saw my confused look. "Undetectable Extension Charm. Tricky, but I think I've done it correctly…All my books fit." I nodded.

Hermione and Ron began to flip through the pages of the books. Since all of us except Frank had dyslexia, we couldn't really read with them.

"_'Talon-clipping by charms…treating scale-rot…' _This is no good, this is for nutters like Hagrid who want to keep them healthy…" Ron said.

"_'_Dragons_ are extremely difficult to slay using magic, owing to the ancient magic that imbues their thick hides, which none but the most powerful spells can penetrate…However, weapons made of Celestial Bronze, Imperial Gold and Stygian Iron are effective against Dragons.'_ A simple spell should be able to work…And Harry has to use his wand, it was already confirmed as his weapon at the ceremony…" Hermione stated.

"Let's try some simple spell books, then." Ron grabbed another book from the stack and scanned it while Hermione whispered nonstop as she read the books.

"Well, there are Switching Spells…but what's the point of Switching it? Unless you swapped its fangs for wine-gums or something that would make it less dangerous…The trouble is, like that book said, not much is going to get through the dragon's hide…I'd say Transfigure it, but something that big, you really haven't got a hope, I doubt even Professor McGonagall…unless you're supposed to put a spell on _yourself_? Maybe to give yourself extra powers? But _they're _not simple spells, I mean, we haven't done any of those in class, I only know about them because I've been reading OWL practice papers.."

"I wish we could be of more help, but we know nothing about spells, since demigods mainly use weapons against monsters." Annabeth said, irritated that she didn't know something.

Ron stared hopelessly at his book. After a minute, he threw it down, much to Hermione and Annabeth's dismay, "Ron, don't throw books!", he said, exasperated, "I give up! There's nothing in these books that will help Harry!"

"There really isn't…" said Hermione, sadly.

Harry, Hermione and Ron got up, gathered Hermione's books, and walked back to the castle.

Harry's POV:

I barely slept that night. When I awoke on Monday morning I seriously considered for the first time ever just running away from Hogwarts. But as I looked around the Great Hall at breakfast time, and thought about what leaving the castle would mean, I knew I couldn't do it. It was the only place I'd ever been happy…well, I supposed I must have been happy with my parents too, but I couldn't remember that.

Somehow, the knowledge that I would rather be here and facing a dragon than back on Privet Drive with Dudley was good to know; it made me feel slightly calmer. I finished my bacon with difficulty (my throat wasn't working too well), and as Hermione, Ron and I got up, I saw Cedric Diggory leaving the Hufflepuff table.

Cedric still didn't know about the dragons…the only champion who didn't, if I was right in thinking that Madame Maxime and Karkaroff would have told Fleur and Krum…and I had told Percy and Reyna.

"I'll see you guys in the greenhouse," I said, coming to my decision as I watched Cedric leaving the Hall. "Go on, I'll catch up."

"Harry, you'll be late, the bell's about to ring –" Hermione protested.

"I'll catch up you two up, okay?"

By the time I reached the bottom of the marble staircase, Cedric was at the top. He was with a load of sixth-year friends. I didn't want to talk to Cedric in front of them; they were among those who were calling him an attention-seeker. I followed Cedric at a distance and saw that he was heading towards the Charms corridor. This gave me an idea. Pausing at a distance from them, I pulled out my wand, and took careful aim.

"_Diffindo!_"

Cedric's bag split. Parchment, quills, and book spilled out of it onto the floor. Several bottles of ink smashed.

"Don't bother," Cedric said in an exasperated voice as his friends bent down to help him. "Tell Flitwick I'm coming, go on…"

This was exactly what I had been hoping for. I slipped my wand back into my robes, waited until Cedric's friends had disappeared into their classroom, and hurried up the corridor, which was now empty of everyone but Cedric and I.

"Hi," Cedric said, picking up a copy of _A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration_ was now splattered with ink. "My bag just split…brand-new and all…"

"Cedric," I said, "the first task is dragons and drakons."

"What?" Cedric looked up at me.

"Dragons and drakons," I repeated, quickly, in case Professor Flitwick came out to see where Cedric had got to. "They've got four dragons for one of the each of us, and 2 drakons, one for Percy and the other for Reyna. We've got to get past them."

Cedric stared at me. I saw some of the panic I'd been feeling since Saturday night flickering in Cedric's gray eyes.

"Are you sure?" Cedric asked in a hushed voice.

"Dead sure," I answered. "I've seen them."

"But how did you find out? We're not supposed to know…"

"Never mind," I said hurriedly – I knew Hagrid would be in trouble if I told the truth. "But I'm not the only one who knows. Fleur and Krum will know by now – Maxime and Karkaroff both saw the dragons too."

Cedric straightened up,, his arms full of inky quills, parchment, and books, his ripped bag dangling off one shoulder. He stared at me, and there was a puzzled, almost suspicious look in his eyes.

"Why are you telling me?" he wondered.

I looked at him in disbelief. I was sure Cedric wouldn't have asked that f he had seen them himself. I wouldn't have let my worst enemy face those monsters unprepared – well, perhaps Malfoy or Snape…

"It's just…fair, isn't it? I stammered. "I've already told Percy and Reyna. We all know now…we're on an even footing, aren't we?"

Cedric was still looking at me in a slightly suspicious way when I heard a familiar clunking behind me. I turned around and saw Mad-Eye Moody emerging from a nearby classroom.

"Come with me, Potter," he growled. "Diggory, off you go."

I stared apprehensively at Moody. Had he overheard us? I wondered.

"Er – Professor, I'm supposed to be in Herbology –"

"Potter. That means you're supposed to be nowhere near the Charms corridor." He got me. "Never mind that. In my office, please, since you're already late…"

I followed him. What was going to happen to me now? I pondered. What if Moody wanted to know how I'd found out about the First Task? Would Moody go to Dumbledore and tell on Hagrid? I hoped not.

I followed Moody into his office. Moody closed the door behind us and turned to look at me, his magical eye fixed upon me as well as the normal one.

"That was a very decent thing you just did, Potter," Mood whispered.

I didn't know what to say; I hadn't been expecting that reaction.

"Sit down," Moody beckoned toward the chair in front of his desk, and I sat.

"So…found out about the dragons and drakons, have you?"

I hesitated. I'd been afraid of this – but I hadn't told Cedric, and I certainly wasn't going to tell Moody, that Hagrid had broken the rules.

"It's all right," Moody said, sitting down and stretching out his wooden leg with a groan. "Cheating's a traditional part of the tournament and always has been."

"I didn't cheat," I argued sharply. "It was – a sort of accident that I found out."

Moody grinned. "I wasn't accusing you, laddie. I've been telling Dumbledore from the start, he can be as high-minded as he likes, but you can bet old Karkaroff and Maxime won't be. They've told their champions everything they can. They want to win. They want to beat Dumbledore, They'd like to prove he's only human." Moody let out a harsh laugh, and his magical eye swiveled around so fast it made me feel queasy watching it. "Only the centaur has been fair. It's a good thing that there's still some good people in this world of Dark wizards."

"So…got any ideas how you're going to get past your dragon yet?" Moody questioned.

"No," I replied.

"Well, I'm not going to tell you," he said gruffly. I don't show favoritism, me. I'm just going to give you some good, general advice. And the first bit is – _play to your strengths._"

"I haven't got any," I said, before I could stop myself.

"Excuse me," growled Moody, "you've got strengths if I say you've got them. Think now. What are you best at?"

I tried to concentrate. What was I best at? Well, that was easy, really –

"Quidditch," I answered dully, "and a fat lot of help –"

"That's right," Moody gazed at me, his magical eye barely moving at all. "You're a damn good flier from what I've heard."

"Yeah, but…" I stared at him. "I'm not allowed my broom, I've only got a wand –"

"My second piece of general advice," Moody said loudly, interrupting me, "is to use a nice, simple spell that will enable you to _get what you need._"

I looked at him blankly. What did I need?

"Come on, boy…" Moody whispered. "Put them together…it's not that difficult…"

And it clicked. I was best at flying. I needed to pass the dragon in the air. For that, I needed my Firebolt. And for my Firebolt, I needed –

"Hermione." I whispered, when had sped into the greenhouse three minutes later, uttering a hurried apology to Professor Sprout as he passed her. "Hermione – I need you to help me learn how to do a Summoning Charm properly by tomorrow afternoon."

And so we practiced. We didn't have lunch, but headed for a free classroom. Hermione gave me advice, Ron held the items across the room, and I tried with all my might to make various objects fly towards me. I was still having problems. The books and quills kept losing heart halfway across the room and dropping like stones to the floor.

"Concentrate, Harry, _concentrate_…"

'What d'you think I'm trying to do?" I yelled. " A great big dragon keeps popping up in my head for some reason…okay, try again…"

I wanted to skip Divination to practice more, but Hermione refused point-blank to skive off Arithmancy. Therefore, Ron and I had to endure over half an hour of Professor Trelawney. Ron and I forced down some dinner after Divination (although Ron wanted to enjoy his food), then returned to the empty classroom with Hermione, using the Invisibility Cloak to avoid teachers. We kept practicing until midnight. We would've stayed longer, but Peeves turned up and wreaked havoc in the classroom. Hermione, Ron and I left in a hurry before the noise attracted Filch, and went back to the Gryffindor common room, which was now mercifully empty.

At two o'clock in the morning, I stood near the fireplace, surrounded by heaps of objects: books, quills, several upturned chairs, an old set of Gobstones, and Neville's toad, Trevor. Only in the last hour had I really gotten the hang of the Summoning Charm.

"That's better, Harry, that's loads better," Ron said, looking pleased.

"Well, now we know what to do next time I can't manage a spell," I said, throwing a rune dictionary back to Ron, so I could try again, "threaten me with a dragon. Right…" I raised my wand once more, "_Accio Dictionary!_"

The heavy book soared out of Ron's hand, flew across the room, and I caught it.

"Harry, I really think you've got it!" Hermione said delightedly.

"Just as long as it works tomorrow," I said. "The Firebolt's going to be much farther than the stuff in here, it's going to be in the castle, and I'm going to be out there on the grounds…"

"That doesn't matter," Hermione stated firmly. "Just as long as you're concentrating really, really hard on it, it'll come. We'd better get to sleep…Harry's really going to need it."

* * *

**The 15th chapter is done! It's surprisingly long. I thought it would be shorter than this. I couldn't really think of a title, so that might be the reason why it's a bit weird. Oh well.**

**Tomorrow's chapter is the long awaited First Task! I hope you enjoyed the 15th chapter of the Godly TriWizard Tournament!**


	16. Chapter 16: The First Task

Chapter 16: The First Task

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and Heroes of Olympus.**

Percy's POV:

Today was Tuesday, the day of the First Task. I felt slight nervousness. A drakon wouldn't be too difficult to defeat, but that depends on what type of drakon it would be. I wished Harry had been more specific.

Throughout that morning, people passing by me would wish me good luck. Time seemed to pass quickly. I'd practiced sword-fighting, slept, and when I'd woken up it was already lunchtime.

We'd barely finished my food when Professor McGonagall rushed over to Harry, Reyna and I.

"Potter, Jackson," she paused, "Reyna, the champions have to come down onto the grounds now…you have to get ready for your task."

"Okay," Harry said, standing up, his fork falling onto his plate. Reyna and I followed suit.

"Good luck, you three," Hermione and Annabeth whispered. Those two were really alike sometimes. Although (don't tell Hermione) Annabeth is smarter, and more beautiful.

"You'll be fine, Harry!" Ron exclaimed. "Don't worry so much."

"Yeah," Harry said in a voice that didn't sound like his. I could tell that he was scared. Very scared. "Harry, listen to them. You can do it! We believe in you."

"Thanks." He mumbled. "But I don't really feel any better." I sighed.

We left the Great Hall with McGonagall. She didn't seem herself either; in fact, she looked nearly as anxious as Hermione. As she walked us down the stone steps and out into the cold November afternoon, she put her hand on Harry's shoulder. He _was _the student of her house; it made sense that she was worried for him. We demigods go through this kind of stuff every day. On the other hand, Harry has never even killed a monster as difficult as a dragon.

"Now, don't panic," she said, "just keep a cool head…We've got wizards standing by to control the situation if it gets out of hand…The main thing is just to do your best, and nobody will think any worse of you…Are you all right, Harry?"

"Yes," Harry replied. "Yes, I'm fine." You don't need to lie to us Harry, I thought; we all know how you're feeling.

She was leading us around the edge of the forest, when we reached a tent. The entrance was facing us, and we could see nothing from behind it.

"All the champions will go in here." Professor McGonagall's voice was shaky. "Wait here for your turn. Mr. Bagman is in there…he'll be telling you the – the procedure…Good luck, the three of you."

"Thanks," Reyna and Harry said. Harry's voice was rather flat, and distant.

Professor McGonagall left us at the opening of the tent, and we went inside.

Fleur Delacour was sitting in a corner on a low wooden stool. She didn't look nearly as composed as usual, but rather pale and clammy. Viktor Krum looked even more moody than usual, which could be his way of showing nerves. Cedric was pacing up and down. He gave Harry a small smile, which he returned, feeling the muscles in his face working rather hard, as though they had forgotten how to smile.

"Harry! Good-o!" Bagman said happily, looking around at him. "Come in, come in, make yourself at home!" What are Reyna and I, chopped demigod? And the situation was obviously not giving off a homey feeling.

"Well, now that we're all here – time to fill you in!" Bagman smiled brightly. "When the audience has assembled, I'm going to be offering each of you students this bag," – he held up a small sack of purple silk and shook it at the four wandholders – "and you two demigods this bag," – he held up a slightly bigger sack of blue silk and waggled it at Reyna and I – "from which you will each select a small model of thing you are about to face! There are different – er – varieties, you see. And I have to tell you something too…ah; yes…your task is to _collect the golden egg_!"

Harry and I glanced around. Cedric had nodded once, to show that he understood Bagman's words, and then started pacing around the tent again; he looked slightly green. Fleur Delacour and Krum hadn't reacted at all. Maybe they thought they might puke if they opened their mouths. But they had volunteered for this, so they would have to go with it. Reyna sat down in a chair, unsheathed her gold dagger, and started to clean it using a cloth from her pocket.

In no time, hundreds of pairs of feet could be heard passing the tent, their owners talking excitedly, laughing, and joking. At least some people were enjoying the tournament, I thought. And then after the sounds of walking had ended, Bagman was opening the purple and blue sacks.

"Ladies first," he said, offering the purple sack to Fleur and the blue sack to Reyna.

Fleur put her shaking hand inside the bag and drew out a perfect model of a dragon that I found out to be a Welsh Green. It had the number two around its neck. Reyna put her hand in the blue bag and drew out a model of the terrifying Lydian Drakon. Seeing it brought back bad memories of the Second Titan War. I knew instantly that Clarisse would want to slay the drakon when she saw it in the arena. She's such an Ares child. The model had the number three around its neck.

Next were Krum and I. Krum pulled out a scarlet dragon – the Chinese Fireball. Around its neck was the number four. I pulled out a model of Damasen's enemy, the Maeonian Drakon. Looking at it made me think of Bob's and Damasen's sacrifice. I would slay the drakon no matter what, for them. The number five was around its neck.

Cedric put his hand in the purple bag, and out came a bluish-gray dragon – the Swedish Short-Snout, the number one tied to its neck. Harry, seeming to know what was left, put his hand in the bag and pulled out the Hungarian Horntail, and the number six.

"Well, there you are!" Bagman exclaimed. "You have each pulled out the creature you will face, and the numbers refer to the order in which you are to take them on, do you see. Now, I'm going to have to leave you in a moment, because I'm commentating. Mr. Diggory, you're first, just go out into the enclosure when you hear a whistle, all right? Now…Harry…could I have a quick word? Outside?"

"Er…yes," Harry said with a blank look on his face. He got up and went out of the tent with Bagman. Harry came back as Cedric was leaving. He looked like he was trying to wish Cedric good luck, but it came out as a hoarse grunt. I snickered, looking at him. Fleur and Krum looked at me, incredulous that I was laughing, seeing what we were about to get into.

Seconds later, we heard the roar of the crowd, which meant Cedric had entered the enclosure was now face-to-face with the living counterpart of his model. Sitting there and listening made Fleur, Krum and Harry feel worse, I noticed. The crowd screamed…yelled…gasped as one entity, as Cedric did whatever he was doing to get past his dragon. Krum was still staring at the ground. Fleur had now taken to retracing Cedric's steps, around and around the tent. Bagman's commentary was also making everything much more worse that it had to be. It made pictures form in our minds as we heard: "Oooh, narrow miss there, very narrow"…"He's taking risks, this one!"… "_Clever _move – pity it didn't work!"

And then, after about fifteen minutes, I heard the deafening roar that could mean only one thing: Cedric had gotten past his dragon and captured the golden egg.

"Very good indeed!" Bagman was shouting. "And now the marks from the judges!"

But he didn't shout out the marks; I supposed the judges were holding them up and showing them to the crowd.

"One down, five to go!" Bagman yelled as the whistle blew again. "Miss Delacour, if you please!"

Fleur was trembling from head to toe; I had respect for her as she left the tent with her head held high and her hand clutching her wand. Only Krum, Harry, Reyna and I were left in the tent. Harry and Krum were sitting on opposite sides of the tent, avoiding each other's gazes. I was watching everyone in the tent. Reyna was still cleaning her dagger.

The same process started again…"Oh I'm not sure that was a wise idea!" we could hear Bagman shouting gleefully. "Oh…nearly! Careful now…good lord, I thought she'd had it then!"

Ten minutes later, I heard the crowd erupt into applause again…Fleur must have been successful. A pause, while Fleur's marks were being shown…more clapping…then, for the third time, the whistle.

"Next is Ms. Reyna!" cried Bagman. Reyna put her cloth away and got up. As Reyna walked out, I shot her a thumb up.

I listened very carefully. "She's getting rather close to it…not sure if that is a smart idea, since it spits poison…" The crowd gasped. "The drakon has bitten her on the arm! But, she doesn't seem to care!"… "She's on its head! It surely doesn't like it!" I heard the drakon scream, "EEESSSS!", like the one Clarisse had killed. The crowd erupted into cheers. "She's killed the drakon, and has gotten the egg!" There was a moment of silence, Reyna's marks were being displayed. The crowd clapped, and the whistle blew for the fourth time.

"And here comes Mr. Krum!" Bagman yelled, and Krum slouched out, leaving Harry and I alone. Harry was looking very nervous right now. Sweat was dribbling off his forehead by massive amounts. I thought about cheering him up, but it probably wouldn't have helped.

"Very daring!" Bagman was saying, and I heard the Chinese Fireball emit a terrifying screech, while the crowd drew its collective breath. "He's showing lots of nerve – and – yes, he's got the egg!"

Applause rang in the wintery air. Krum had finished, and it was about to be my turn.

I stood up and waited. And then I heard the whistle blow. "Next is Mr. Jackson!" I walked through the entrance of the tent, past the trees, and through a gap in the fenced area.

At the other end of the enclosure was the drakon. Its beautiful green and yellow hide shone in the sunlight. Too bad that I was about to kill it, really. The Maeonian drakon was crouched over her pile of eggs, its long body wrapped around them, her evil, sea green eyes on him.

Next to me were some rocks I supposed were for hiding behind. Well, I wouldn't really need that, would I? Instead, I jumped onto of the largest boulder. Taking my pen out of my pocket and uncapping it, it transformed into my sword, Riptide. I screamed at the drakon "Come here! Damasen might not be killing you every day anymore, but don't get your hopes up! Come and fight me!" It let out a raspy shriek, and slid towards me. "Fearless, this one is!" Bagman commentated.

When it got close enough, I jumped off the massive rock, and landed on the drakon. It began to squirm wildly, trying to get me off. "He's barely staying on the drakon!" Bagman screamed.

Hanging onto the drakon with my left arm, I raised my right arm that was holding Riptide, and brought it down. Riptide pierced through the drakon's hide and dug deep into the its flesh. Then, I climbed onto its head. Looking into its sea green eyes that were so similar to mine, I stabbed both its eyes while closing my own. I then leaped onto the ground. The drakon let out its raspy shriek for one last time, and turned to monster dust. I ran over to the pile of eggs, and took the only gold one from the pile. I'd passed! I let out a whoop.

The crowd exploded into thunderous cheers and applause. "A great show of sword-fighting! Mr. Jackson, you are a fierce competitor!" Bagman praised.

Now that the drakon had been killed, I could see where the six judges were sitting – right at the other end, in raised seats of gold.

All of the judges showed their marks at once (Dumbledore had to do it for Chiron). Long silver ribbons shot out from the tips of their wands, and they formed six 10's, which was a full score!

"Now is Mr. Potter's turn!" Bagman announced.

I turned around and walked back to the tent. Harry walked past me, and I wished him good luck.

Cedric, Fleur, Krum and Reyna had arrived from the treatment tent. One side of Cedric's face was covered in thick orange paste. Fleur and Krum showed no signs of injury. Reyna's arm (the one without her SPQR tattoo) had a thin, oval scar.

"Your arm okay?" I said worriedly.

"It's fine, nothing ambrosia couldn't fix." She put a hand on her arm.

I walked to the entrance of the tent. Harry was holding a wand in the air, and he was waiting for something. Then, I saw his broomstick zooming towards him. It stopped right above Harry, who grabbed it and mounted it. Harry kicked off, and he shot high into the air, until I could barely see him. Harry suddenly dived, aiming for the eggs. The dragon's head followed Harry's path. He noticed and pulled out of his dive, just it flamed right where he would have been.

"Great Scott, he can fly!" yelled Bagman as the crowd shrieked and gasped. "Are you watching this, Mr. Krum?" To answer his question, yes, he was.

Harry soared higher in a circle; the dragon still following his progress. Harry plummeted, right as the Horntail opened his mouth, but this time he was less lucky – he missed the flames, but the tail came whipping up to meet him instead, and as he swerved to the left, one of the long spikes grazed his shoulder, ripping his robes –

The crowd screamed and groaned. Harry zoomed around the back of the Horntail. Noticing something, he began to fly back and forth, not near enough to make her breathe fire to burn him, but near enough for her to keep her eyes on him. He flew higher, and the dragon's head rose with him, her neck now stretched to its fullest extent, swaying. Harry rose a few more feet, and she let out a roar of exasperation. She shot fire into the air, which he dodged. Her jaws opened wide. Harry began to taunt the dragon, swerving left and right above her.

And then she reared, spreading her leathery wings at last, and Harry dived. Before the dragon had realized what Harry had done, he was speeding toward the ground as fast as he could go, toward the eggs now unprotected by her legs. He'd taken his hands off his broomstick, and when he reached them, he seized the golden egg.

The stands exploded into cheers and applause. Bagman was shouting into his microphone, "Will you look at that! Our youngest champion was the fastest to get his egg from the students! This will shorten the odds of Mr. Potter!"

Harry turned around and flew into the treatment tent. After two minutes, Harry again entered the enclosure, and received his score. He'd tied with Reyna for second place with 48/50 points! Harry walked back into the tent.

Cedric grinned at Harry when he saw him.

"Good one, Harry," Cedric said. "You too," he answered.

"Well done, _all of you!_" Ludo Bagman said, bouncing into the tent and looking as happy as though he personally had just gotten past a dragon. "Now, just a quick few words. You've got a nice long break before the second task, which will take place at half past nine on the morning of February the twenty-fourth – but we're giving you something to think about in the meantime! If you look down at these golden eggs you're all holding, you will see that they open…see the hinges there? You need to solve the clue inside the egg – because it will tell you what the second task is, and enable you to prepare for it! All clear? Sure? Well, off you go, then!" I left the tent with Harry. We started to walk back around the edge of the forest. Then, as we rounded the clump of trees behind which Harry had first heard the dragons and drakons roar, a witch leapt out from behind us. I instantly had a hand on my pocket.

It was Rita Skeeter.

"Congratulations, Harry!" she said, beaming at him. As always, she only had her eyes on him. That sounds like she has feelings for him, I realized. I laughed quietly. "I wonder if you could give me a quick word? How you felt facing the dragon? How you feel _now_, about the fairness of the scoring? They were rather biased towards those _demigods_."

"Yeah, you can have a word." Harry said savagely. "_Good-bye._"

And we set off to the castle, leaving Rita Skeeter in the Forbidden Forest.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I've been thinking about something…I want to post three to four times a week, instead of the schedule I have now. Recently, it's been getting hard for me to post every day. A long chapter takes me about 3-4 hours, and that's been most of the chapters recently. I don't really have that much time every day. So, I hope you guys aren't too sad about that…**

**The next chapter will be up on Friday! I hope you enjoyed the 16****th**** chapter of the Godly TriWizard Tournament!**


	17. Chapter 17:The HouseElf Liberation Front

Chapter 17: The House-Elf Liberation Front

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and Heroes of Olympus.**

Harry's POV:

Hermione, Ron and I went up to the Owlery that evening to find Pigwidgeon so that I would send Sirius a letter telling him that I had managed to get past my dragon unscathed. Pigwidgeon was so overexcited about the idea of a delivery that he was flying around and around my head, hooting incessantly. Ron snatched Pigwidgeon out of the air and held him while I attached the letter to his leg.

"There's no way any of the other tasks are going to be that dangerous, how could they be?" Ron went on as he carried Pigwidgeon to the window. He threw the owl out of the window. Pigwidgeon plummeted twelve feet before managing to pull himself back up again; the letter attached to his left was much longer and heavier than usual – I hadn't been able to resist giving Sirius a blow-by-blow account of exactly how I had swerved, circle, and dodged the Horntail. We watched Pigwidgeon disappear into the darkness, and then Ron said, "Well, we'd better get downstairs for your surprise party, Harry – Fred and George should have nicked enough food from the kitchens by now."

Sure enough, when we entered the Gryffindor common room, it exploded with cheers and yells again. There were mountains of cakes and flagons of pumpkin juice and butterbeer on every surface; Lee Jordan had let off some Filibuster's Fireworks, so that the air was thick with stars and sparks; and Dean Thomas, who was very good at drawing, had put up some impressive new banners, most of which depicted me zooming around the Horntail's head on my Firebolt, though a couple showed Cedric with his head on fire.

I helped myself to food; I had almost forgotten what it was like to be properly hungry, and sat down with Ron and Hermione. I couldn't believe how happy I felt; the rage and hatred towards me from the rest of the school had faded, I'd gotten through the first task, and I wouldn't have to face the second one for three months.

"Blimey, this is heavy," Lee Jordan said, picking up the golden egg, which I had left on the table, and weighing it in his hands. "Open it, Harry, go on! Let's just see what's inside it!"

"He's supposed to work it out on his own," Hermione quickly said. "It's in the tournament rules…"

"I was supposed to work out how to get past the dragon on my own too," I muttered, so only Hermione and Ron could hear, and she grinned rather guiltily.

"Yeah, go on, Harry, open it!" several people echoed.

Lee passed me the egg, and I dug my fingernails into the groove that ran all the way around it and pried it open.

It was hollow and completely empty – but the moment I opened it, the most horrible noise, a loud and screechy wailing, filled the room. The nearest thing I had ever heard to it was the ghost orchestra at Nearly Headless Nick's deathday party, who had all been playing the musical saw.

"Shut it!" Fred bellowed, his hands over his ears.

"What was that?" said Seamus Finnigan, staring at the egg as I slammed it shut again. "Sounded like a banshee…Maybe you've got to get past one of those next, Harry!"

"It was someone being tortured!" cried Neville, who had gone very white and spilled sausage rolls all over the floor. "You're going to have to fight the Cruciatus Curse!"

"Don't be a prat, Neville, that's illegal." George said. "They wouldn't use the Cruciatus Curse on the champions."

"Want a jam tart, Hermione?" Fred offered her a plate of full of jam tarts. She looked at them dubiously. "It's all right. I haven't done anything to them. It's the custard creams you've got to watch –"

Neville, who had just bitten into a custard cream, choked and spat it out. Fred laughed and said, "Just my little joke, Neville…"

Hermione took a jam tart. Then she said, "Did you get this all from the kitchens, Fred?"

"Yep," he grinned. He put up a high-pitched squeak and imitated a house-elf. "'Anything we can get you, sir, anything at all!' They're dead helpful…get me a roast ox if I said I was puckish."

"How do you get there?" Hermione said in an innocently casual voice.

"Easy," Fred said, "concealed door behind a painting of a bowl of fruit. Just tickle the pear, and it giggles and –" He stopped and looked suspiciously at her. "Why?"

"No reason," She said swiftly.

"Going to try and lead the house-elves out on strike now, are you?" George exclaimed. "Going to give up all the leaflet stuff and try and stir them up into rebellion?"

Several people chortled. Hermione didn't answer.

"Don't you go upsetting them and telling htem they've got to take clothes and salaries!" Fred warned. "You'll put them off their cooking!"

Just then, Neville caused a slight diversion by turning into a large canary.

"Oh – sorry, Neville!" Fred shouted over the laughter. "I forgot – it _was _the custard creams we hexed –"

Within a mnute, however, Neville had molted, and once his feathers had fallen off, he reappeared looking entirely normal. He even joined in the laughing.

"Canary Creams!" Fred shouted to the excitable crowd. "George and I invented them thanks to Travis and Conner's ideas – seven Sickles each, a bargain!"

It was nearly one in the morning when I finally went up to the dormitory with Ron, Neville, Seamus, and Dean. Before I pulled the curtains of my four-poster shut, I set my tiny model of the Hungarian Horntail on the table next to my bed. Really, I thought, as I pulled the hangings of my four-poster closed, Hagrid had a point…they were all right, really, dragons…

The start of December brought wind and sleet to Hogwarts. Drafty though the castle always was in winter, I was glad of its fires and thick walls every time I passed the Durmstrang ship on the lake, which was pitching in the high winds, its black sails billowing against the dark skies. He thought the Beauxbatons caravan was likely to be pretty chilly too. Hagrid, I noticed, was keeping Madame Maxime's horses well provided with their preferred drink of single-malt whiskey; the fumes wafting from the trough in the corner of their paddock was enough to make the entire Care of Magical Creatures class light-headed. This was unhelpful, as they were still tending the horrible skrewts and needed their wits about them. There were now only ten skrewts left, and each of them were now approaching six feet in length. The entire class (excluding Ron, Hermione and I), still frightful of them, hid in Hagrid's hut the whole class. When the bell rang, we rushed inside the castle to Divination. The class was as bland as ever. Professor Trelawney kept on predicting my death.

"It'd be more impressive if she hadn't done it about eighty times before," I said as Ron and I finally regained the fresh air of the staircase beneath Trelawney's room. "But if I'd dropped dead every tme she's told me I'm going to, I'd be a medical miracle. Although Nico would most likely go mad."

"You'd be a sort of extra-concentrated ghost who has a son of Hades after him." Ron said, chortling, as we passed the Bloody Baron going in the opposite direction, his wide eyes staring sinisterly. "At least we didn't get homework. I hope Hermione got loads off Professor Vector, I love not working when she is…"

But Hermione wasn't at dinner, nor was she in the library when they went to look for her afterward, The only person in there was Viktor Krum. Ron hovered behind the bookshelves for a while, watching Krum, debating in whispers with me whether he should ask for an autograph – but then Ron realized that six or seven girls were lurking in the next row of books, debating exactly the same thing, and he lost his enthusiasm for the idea.

"Wonder where she's got to?" Ron said as he and I went back to the Gryffindor Tower.

"Dunno…balderdash."

But the Fat Lady had barely begun to swing forward when the sound of racing feet behind us announced Hermione's arrival.

"Harry!" she panted, skidding to a halt behind me (the Fat Lady stared down at her, eyebrows raised) "Harry, you've got to come – you've _got _to come, the most amazing thing's happened – please –"

She seized my arm and started to try to drag me back along the corridor.

"What's the matter?" I said.

"I'l show you when we get there – oh come on, quick –"

I looked around at Ron; he looked back at me, intrigued.

"Okay," I said, staring off back down the corridor with Hermione, Ron hurrying to keep up.

"Oh, don't mind me!" the Fat Lady said irritably after them. "Don't apologize for bothering me! I'll just hang her, wide open, until you get back, shall I?"

"Yeah, thanks!" Ron shouted over his shoulder.

"Hermione, where are we going?" I asked, after she had led us down through six floors, and started down the marble staircase into the entrance hall.

"You'll see, you'll see in a minute!" said Hermione excitedly.

She turned left at the bottom of the staircase and hurried toward the door through which Cedric Diggory had gone the night after the Goblet of Fire regurgitated his and my name, I had never been there before. Ron and I followed Hermione down a flight of stone steps, but instead of ending up in a gloomy undergroung passage like the one that led to Snape's dungeon, we found ourselves in a broad stone corridor, brightly lit with torches, and decorated with cheerful paintings that were mainly of food. Uh oh. I thought. Paintings of food!

"Wait a minute, Hermione…" I said slowly, halfway down the corridor.

"What?" She turned around to look at me, anticipation written all over her face.

"I know what this is all about." I replied.

I nudged Ron and pointed to the painting just behind Hermione. It showed a gigantic silver fruit bowl.

"Hermione!" Ron said, catching on. "You're trying to rope us into that spew stuff again!"

"No, no, I'm not!" she said hastily. "And it's not _spew, _Ron –"

"Changed the name, have you?" Ron said, frowning at her. "What are we now, the House-Elf Liberation Front? I'm not barging into that kitchen and trying to make them stop work, I'm not doing it –"

"I'm not asking you to!" Hermione said impatiently. "I came down here just now, to talk to them, and I found – oh come _on_, Harry, I want to show you!"

She seized my arm again, pulled me in front of the picture of the giant fruit bowl, stretched out her forefinger, and tickled the huge green pear. It began to squirm, chuckling, and suddenly turned into a large green door handle. Hermione seized it, pulled the door open, and pushed me hard in the back, forcing me inside.

I had one brief glimpse of an enormous, high-ceilinged room, large as the Great Hall above it, with mounds of glittering brass pots and pans heaped around the stone walls, and a great brick fireplace at the other end, when something small hurled toward me from the middle of the room, shrieking, "Harry Potter, sir! _Harry Potter!_"

Next second all of the wind had been knocked out of me as the squealing elf hit me hard in the midriff, hugging me so tightly I thought my ribs would break.

"D-Dobby?" I gasped.

"It _is _Dobby, sir, it is!" screamed the voice from somewhere around my navel. "Dobby has been hoping and hoping to see Harry Potter, sir, and Harry Potter has come to see him, sir!"

Dobby let go and stepped back a few paces, beaming up at me, his big, green, tennis-ball shaped eyes brimming with tears of happiness. He looked almost exactly as I remembered him; the pencil-shaped nose, the batlike ears, the long fingers and feet – all except the clothes, which were very different.

When Dobby had worked for the Malfoys, he had always worn the same filthy old pillowcase. Now, however, he was wearing the strangest assortment of garments I had ever seen; he had done an even worse job of dressing himself than the wizards at the World Cup. He was wearing a tea cozy for a hat, on which he had pinned a number of bright badges; a tie patterned with horseshoes over a bare chest, a pair of what looked like children's soccer shorts, and odd socks. One of these, I saw, was the black one I had removed from my own food and tricked Mr. Malfoy into giving Dobby, thereby setting Dobby free. The other was covered in purple and orange stripes. (**This was in the book, what a coincidence!**)

"Dobby, what're you doing here?" I said in amazement.

"Dobby has come to work at Hogwarts, sir!" Dobby squealed excitedly. "Professor Dumbledore gave Dobby and Winky jobs, sir!"

"Winky?" I said. "She's here too?"

"Yes, sir, yes!" Dobby said, and he grabbed my hand and pulled me off into the kitchen between four long wooden tables that stood there. Each of these tables, I noticed as I passed them, was positioned exactly beneath the four House tables above, in the Great Hall. At that moment, they were clear of food, dinner having finished, but I supposed that an hour ago they had been laden with dishes that were then sent up through the ceiling to their counterparts above.

At least a hundred little elves were standing around the kitchen, beaming, bowing, and curtsying as Dobby led me past them. They were all wearing the same uniform: a tea towel stamped with the Hogwarts crest, and tied, as Winky's had been, like a toga.

Dobby stopped in front of the brick fireplace and pointed, saying, "Winky, sir!"

Winky was sitting on a stool by the fire. Unlike Dobby, she had obviously not foraged for clothes. She was wearing a neat little skirt and blouse with a matching blue hat, which had holes in it for her large ears. However, while every one of Dobby's strange collection of garments was so clean and well-cared for that it looked brand-new, Winky was plainly not taking care of her clothes at all. There were soup stains all down her blouse and a burn on her skirt.

"Hello, WInky," I greeted.

Winky's lip quivered. Then she burst into tears, which spilled out of her great brown eyes and splashed down her front, just as they had done at the Quidditch World Cup.

"Oh dear," Hermione said. She and Ron had followed me and Dobby to the end of the kitchen. "Winky, don't cry, please don't…"

But Winky cried harder than ever. Dobby, on the other hand, grinned up at me.

"Would Harry Potter like a cup of tea?" He squeaked loudly, over Winky's sobs.

"Er – yeah, okay." I said.

Instantly, about siz house-elves came trotting up behind me, bearing a huge silver tray laden with a teapot, cups for Ron, Hermione and I, a milk jug, and a large plate of biscuits.

"Good service!" Ron said, in an impressed voice. Hermione frowned at him, but the elves all looked delighted; they bowed very low and retreated.

"How long have you been here, Dobby?" I asked as he handed around the tea.

"Only a week, Harry Potter, sir!" Dobby said happily. "Dobby came to see Professor Dumbledore, sir. You see, sir, it is very difficult for a house-elf who had been dismissed to get a new position, sir, very difficult indeed –"

At this, Winky howled even harder, her squashed-tomato of a nose dribbling all down her front, though she made no effort to stem the flow.

"Dobby has traveled the country for two whole years, sir, trying to find work!" Dobby squeaked. "But Dobby hasn't found work, sir, because Dobby wants paying now!"

The house-elves all around the kitchen, who had been listening and watching with interest, all looked away at these words, as though Dobby had said something rude and embarrassing. Hermione, however, said, "Good for you, Dobby!"

"Thank you, miss!" said Dobby, smiling toothily at her. "But most wizards doesn't want a house-elf who wants paying, miss. 'That's not the point of a house-elf' they says, and they slammed the door in Dobby's face! Dobby likes work, but he wants to wear clothes and he wants to be paid, Harry Potter…Dobby likes being free!"

The Hogwarts house-elves had now starting edging away from Dobby, as though he were wearing something contagious. Winky, however, remained where she was, though there was a definite increase in the volume of her crying.

"And then, Harry Potter, Dobby goes to visit Winky, and finds out Winky had been freed too, sir!" Dobby said delightedly.

At this, Winky flung herself forward off her stool and lay face-down on the flagged stone floor, beating her tiny fists upon it and positively screaming with misery. Hermione hastily dropped down to her knees beside her and tried to comfort her, but nothing she said made the slightest difference. Dobby continued with his story, shouting shrilly over Winky's screeches.

"And then Dobby had the idea, Harry Potter, sir! 'Why doesn't Dobby and Winky find work together!' Dobby says. 'Where is there enough work for two house-elves?' Winky says. And Dobby thinks, and it comes to him, sir! _Hogwarts! _So Dobby and Winky came to see Professor Dumbledore, sir, and Professor Dumbledore took us on!" Dobby beamed very brightly, and happy tears welled up in his eyes again. "And Professor Dumbledore says he will pay Dobby, sir, if Dobby wants paying! And so Dobby is a free elf, sir, and Dobby gets a Galleon a week and one day off a month!"

"That's not very much!" Hermione shouted indignantly from the floor, over Winky's continued screaming and fist-beating.

"Professor Dumbldore offered Dobby ten Galleons a week, and weekends off," Dobby said, suddenly giving a little shiver, as though the prospect of so much leisure and riches were frightening, "but Dobby beat him down, miss…Dobby likes freedom, miss, but he isn't wanting too much, miss, he likes work better."

"And how much is Professor Dumbledore paying _you_, Winky?" Hermione asked kindly.

If she thought this would cheer up Winky, she was wildly mistaken. Winky did stop crying, but when she sat up she was glaring at Hermione through her massive brown eyes, her whole face sopping wet and suddenly furious.

"Winky is a disgraced elf, but Winky is not yet getting paid!" She said shrilly. "Winky is not sunk so low as that! Winky is properly ashamed of being freed!"

"Ashamed?" Hermione said blankly. "But – Winky, come on! It's Mr. Crouch who should be ashamed, not you! You didn't do anything wrong, he was really horrible to you –"

But at these words, Winky clapped her hands over the holes in her hat, flattening her ears so that she couldn't hear a word, and screeched, "You is not insulting my master, miss! You is not insulting Mr. Crouch! Mr. Crouch is a good wizard, miss! Mr. Crouch is right to sack bad Winky!"

"Winky is having trouble adjusting, Harry Potter," squeaked Dobby confidentially. "Winky forgets she is not bound to Mr. Crouch anymore; she is allowed to speak her mind now, but she won't do it."

"Can't house-elves speak their minds about their masters, then?" I asked.

"Oh no, sir, no," said Dobby, suddenly looking serious. "'Tis part of the house-elf's enslavement, sir. We kepps their secrets and our silence, sir. We upholds the family's honor, and we never speaks ill of them – though Professor Dumbledore told Dobby he does not insist upon this. Professor Dumbledore said we is free to – to –"

Dobby suddenly looked nervous and beckoned me closer. I bent forward. Dobby whispered, "He said we is free to call him a – a barmy old codger if we likes, sir!" Dobby gave a frightened sort of giggle. "But Dobby is not wanting to, Harry Potter. Dobby likes Professor Dumbledore very much, sir, and is proud to keep his secrets and our silence for him."

"But you can say what you like about the Malfoys now?" I asked him, grinning.

A slightly fearful look came into Dobby's immense eyes. "Dobby – Dobby could," he said doubtfully. He squared his small shoulders. "Dobby could tell Harry Potter that his old masters were – were – bad _Dark wizards!_"

Dobby stood for a moment, quivering all over, horror-struck by his own daring – then he rushed over to the nearest table and began banging his head on it very hard, squealing, "_Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!_"

I seized Dobby by the back of his tie and pulled him away from the table.

"Thank you, Harry Potter, thank you," Dobby said wheezily, rubbing his head.

"You just need a bit of practice," I said.

"Practice?" Winky shrieked furiously. "You is ought to be ashamed of yourself, Dobby, talking that way about your masters!"

"They isn't my masters anymore, Winky!" Dobby said defiantly. "Dobby doesn't care what they think anymore!"

"Oh you is a bad elf, Dobby!" moaned Winky, tears leaking down her face once more. "My poor Mr. Crouch, what is he doing without Winky? He is needing me, he is needing my help! I is looking after the Crouches all my life, and my mother is doing if before me, and my grandmother before her…oh what is they saying if they knew Winky was freed? Oh the shame, the shame!" She buried her face in her skirt again and bawled.

"Winky," Hermione said firmly, "I'm quite sure Mr. Crouch is getting along perfectly well without you. We've seen him, you know –"

"You is seeing my master?" Winky said breathlessly, raising her restrained face out of her skirt once more and goggling at Hermione. "You is seeing him here at Hogwarts?"

"Yes," Hermione said, "he and Mr. Bagman are judges in the Godly TriWizard Tournament."

"Mr. Bagman comes too?" squeaked Winky, and to my great surprise (and Ron's and Hermione's too, by the looks on their faces), she was angry again. "Mr. Bagman is a bad wizard! A very bad wizard! My master isn't liking him, oh no, not at all!"

"Bagman – bad?" I said.

"Oh yes," Winky said, nodding furiously. "My master is telling Winky some things! But Winky is not saying…Winky – Winky keeps her master's secrets…"

She dissolved yet again in tears; they could hear her sobbing into her skirt, "Poor master, poor master, no Winky to help him no more!"

We couldn't get another sensible word out of Winky. We left her to her crying and finished our tea, while Dobby chatted happily about his life as a free elf and his plans for his wages.

"Dobby is going to buy a sweater next, Harry Potter!" he said happily, pointing at his bare chest.

"Tell you what, Dobby," Ron said, who seemed to have taken a great liking to the elf, "I'll give you the one my mum knits me this Christmas, I always get one from her. You don't mind maroon, do you?"

Dobby was delighted.

"We might have to shrink it a bit to fit you," Ron told him, "but it'll go well with your tea cozy."

As we prepared to take our leave, many of the surrounding elves pressed in upon us, offering snacks to take back upstairs. Hermione refused, with a pained look at the way the elves kept bowing and curtsying, but Ron and I loaded our pockets with cream cakes and pies.

"Thanks a lot!" I said to the elves, who had all clustered around the door to say good night, "See you, Dobby!"

"Harry Potter…can Dobby come and see you sometimes, sir?" Dobby asked tentatively.

"'Course you can," I answered, and Dobby beamed.

"You know what?" Ron said, once he, Hermione and I had left the kitchens behind and were climbing the steps into the entrance hall again. "All these years I've been really impressed with Fred and George, nicking food from the kitchens – well, it's not exactly difficult, is it? They can't wait to give it away!"

"I think this is the best thing that could have happened to those elves, you know," Hermione stated, leading the way back up the marble staircase. "Dobby coming to work here, I mean. The other elves will see how happy he is, being free, and slowly it'll dawn on them that they want that too!"

"Let's hope they don't look too closely at Winky," I added.

"Oh, she'll cheer up," Hermione sounded a bit doubtful when she said that. "Once the shock's worn off, and she's got used to Hogwarts, she'll see how much better off she is without that Crouch man."

"She seems to love him," Ron said thickly (he had just started on a cream cake).

"Doesn't think much of Bagman, though, does she?" I said. "Wonder what Crouch says at home about him?"

"Probably says he's not a very good Head of the Department," Hermione said, "and let's face it…he's got a point, hasn't he?"

"I'd still rather work for him than old Crouch," Ron commented. "At least Bagman's got a sense of humor."

"Don't let Percy hear you saying that," Hermione said, smiling slightly. (**If you didn't know, Percy Weasley, Ron's older brother, not Percy Jackson, but you probably did know :P**)

"Yeah, well, Percy wouldn't want to work for anyone with a sense of humor, would he?" Ron said, now starting on a chocolate éclair. 'Percy wouldn't recognize a joke if it danced naked in front of him wearing Dobby's tea cozy."

* * *

**GreenDayGames, I'm not sure if you've read the House of Hades, so if you haven't, ignore what's after this. If you have, then, keep on reading. Bob and Damasen sacrifice themselves so that Percy and Annabeth can go through the Doors of Death. We don't know for sure if they're dead, but they most likely are.**

**To the guest who mentioned Hermes' multivitamins, I'm pretty sure Percy left the bottle which had spilled on Circe's island. I think Blackbeard and his pirates gobbled up the rest of them, so the multivitamins are no more.**

**The 17th chapter is here! Wow, it's the longest chapter yet, and it's just filler! But, Dobby is awesome so I hope you don't mind :D**

**The next chapter will be up next week, maybe Monday or Tuesday. I hope you enjoyed the 17th chapter of the Godly TriWizard Tournament!**


	18. Chapter 18: The Unexpected Task

**Chapter 18: The Unexpected Task**

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and Heroes of Olympus.

Harry's POV:

"Potter! Weasley! _Will you pay attention?_"

Professor McGonagall's irritated voice cracked like a whip through Transfiguration class on Thursday, and Ron and I both jumped and looked up.

It was the end of the lesson; we had just finished our work; the guinea fowl we had been changing into guinea pigs had been shut away in a large cage on Professor McGonagall's desk (Neville's still had feathers); we had copied down our homework from the blackboard ("_Describe, with examples, the ways in which Transfiguration Spells must be adapted when performing Cross-Species Switches"_). The bell was due to ring any moment, and Ron and I, who had been having a sword fight with Fred and George's fake wands at the back of the class, looked up, Ron holding a tin parrot and me, a rubber haddock.

"Now that Potter and Weasley have been kind enough to act their age," Professor McGonagall said with an angry look at the two of us as the head of my haddock drooped and fell silently to the floor – Ron's parrot's beak had severed it moments before – "I have something to say to you all.

"The Yule Ball is approaching – a traditional part of the (Godly) TriWizard Tournament and an opportunity for us to socialize with our foreign guests. Now, the ball will be open only to fourth years and above – although you may invite a younger student if you wish –"

Lavender Brown let out a shrill giggle. Parvati Patil nudged her hard in the ribs, her face working furiously as she too fought not to giggle. They both looked around at me. Professor McGonagall ignored them, which I though was distinctly unfair, as she had just told Ron and I off.

"Dress robes will be worn," Professor McGonagall continued, "and the ball will start at eight o'clock on Christmas Day, finishing at midnight in the Great Hall, now then –"

Professor McGonagall stared deliberately around the class.

"The Yule Ball is of course a chance for us all to – er – let our hair down," she said, in a disapproving voice.

Lavender giggled harder than ever, with her hand pressed hard against her mouth to stifle the sound. I could see what was funny this time: Professor McGonagall, with her hair in a tight bun, looked as though she had never let her hair down in any sense.

"But that does NOT mean," Professor McGonagall went on, "that we will be relaxing the standards of behavior we expect from Hogwarts students. I will be most seriously displeased if a Gryffindor student embarrasses the school in any way."

The bell rang, and there was the usual scuffle of activity as everyone packed their bags and swung them onto their shoulders.

Professor McGonagall called above the noise, "Potter – a word, if you please."

Assuming this had something to do with my headless rubber haddock, I proceeded gloomily to the teacher's desk. Professor McGonagall waited until the rest of the class had gone, and then said, "Potter, the champions and their partners –"

"What partners?" I said.

Professor McGonagall looked suspiciously at me, as though she thought I was trying to be funny.

"Your partners for the Yule Ball, Potter," she stated coldly, "Your _dance partners_."

My insides seemed to curl up and shrivel.

"Dance partners?" I felt myself going red. "I don't dance," I stammered.

"Oh yes, you do," she said irritably. "That's what I'm telling you. Traditionally, the champions and their partners open the ball."

I had a sudden image of myself in a top hat and tails, accompanied by a girl in the sort of frilly dress Aunt Petunia always wore to Uncle Vernon's work parties.

"I'm not dancing," I said.

"It is traditional," Professor McGonagall said firmly. "You are Hogwarts champion, and you will do what is expected of you as a representative of the school. So make sure you get yourself a partner, Potter."

"But – I don't –"

"You heard me, Potter," Professor McGonagall said in a final sort of way.

A week ago, I could have said finding a partner for a dance would be a cinch compared to taking on a Hungarian Horntail. But now that I had done the latter, and was facing the prospect of asking a girl to the ball, I thought I'd rather have another round with the dragon.

I had never known so many people put their names down to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas; I always did, of course, because the alternative was usually going back to Privet Drive, but I had always been very much in the minority before now. This year, however, everyone in the fourth year and above seemed to be staying, and they all seemed to me to be obsessed with the coming ball – or at least all the girls were, and it was amazing how many girls Hogwarts suddenly seemed to hold; I had never quite noticed that before. Girls giggling and whispering in the corridors, girls shrieking with laughter as boys passed them, girls excitedly comparing notes on what they were going to wear on Christmas night…

"Why do they all have to move in packs?" I asked Ron as a dozen or so girls passed by us, sniggering and staring at me. "How're you supposed to get one on their own to ask them?"

"Lasso one," Ron suggested. "Got any idea who you're going to try?"

I didn't answer. I knew perfectly well whom I'd _like _to ask, but working up the nerve was something else…Cho was a year older than I was; she was very pretty; she was a good Quidditch player, and she was also very popular.

Ron seemed to know what was going on inside my head.

"Listen, you're not going to have any trouble. You're a champion. You've just beaten a Hungarian Horntail. I bet they'll be queuing up to go with you."

To my surprise, he turned out to be quite right.

A third year, a second-year and a fifth year asked me to the ball in the following days. I had rejected all the offers, the last in my horror.

"She was quite good-looking," Ron said fairly, after he'd stopped laughing.

"She was a foot taller than me," I said, still unnerved. "Imagine what I'd look like trying to dance with her."

Ron burst out laughing again.

The last week of the term became increasingly boisterous as it progressed. Some teachers, like Professor Flitwick, gave up trying to teach us much when our minds were so clearly elsewhere; he allowed us to play games in his lessons on Wednesday, and spent most of it talking to me about the perfect Summoning Charm I had used during the first task of the Godly TriWizard Tournament. Other teachers were not so generous. Nothing would ever deflect Professor Binns, for example, from plowing on through his notes on goblin rebellions except Nico, but he and the others weren't taking classes anymore. Professor McGonagall, Moody and Snape were among the teachers who wouldn't give up teaching us. Professor McGonagall and Moody kept them working until the very last second of classes too, and Snape, of course, would no sooner let us play games in class than adopt me. Staring nastily at all of us, he informed us that he would be testing us on poison antidotes during the last lesson of the term.

"Evil, he is," Ron remarked bitterly that night in the Gryffindor common room. "Springing a test on us on the last day. Ruining the last bit of term with a whole load of studying."

"Mmm…you're not exactly straining yourself, are you?" Hermione said, looking at him over the top of her Potions notes. Ron was busy building a card castle out of his Exploding Snap pack – a much more interesting pastime than with Muggle cards, because of the chance the whole thing could blow up any second.

"It's Christmas, Hermione, let them rest a little," Percy said. He, along with Annabeth, had sneaked into the Gryffindor common room with the help of the Stolls, to our great surprise.

Hermione looked severely at me. "I'd have thought you'd be doing something constructive, Harry, even if you don't want to learn your antidotes! You too, Percy!"

"Like what?" I said as I was reading _Flying with the Cannons _for the tenth time.

"That egg!" Hermione said.

"Oh come on, Hermione, I've got till February the twenty-fourth!" I said.

"Really? You didn't hear a voice speaking to you when you opened it?" Percy asked.

"All I heard was a screechy wailing," I said, and Ron, Hermione and Annabeth.

"It must have something to do with Poseidon, then, since only Percy can hear it." Annabeth reasoned.

"Makes sense," I said. "Are you two going to the Yule Ball together? Who's everyone else going with?"

"Of course I'm going with my Wise Girl!" Percy took Annabeth's hand into his, and smiled at her. "Jason and Piper, Frank and Hazel, Nico and Luna –"

"Nico and Luna?!" Ron burst out. "When did that happen?!"

"They're going as friends…that's what Nico says," Percy wiggled his eyebrows. "I've never seen Nico care so much for someone who he wasn't related to before." He continued, "Like I was saying, Thalia and maybe Leo are going alone, and Reyna doesn't have a partner."

"Can't Reyna and Leo go together?" Ron asked. Annabeth shook her head. "She doesn't trust him after what happened at Camp Jupiter." She saw my confused look. "When we flew to Camp Jupiter in Leo's ship, he got possessed by a spirit and bombed half of the camp and city."

"Oh…" Ron said uneasily.

Hermione pondered for a while, placing her Potions book on her lap. After a minute, she said, "Reyna could go with one of your brothers, Annabeth. Bellona and Athena have some similarities, don't they?" Annabeth nodded. "It wouldn't be the strangest of choices, and could work…you could suggest that to her, if she doesn't get a partner."

"Good idea, Hermione." Ron said. He placed the last two cards of Exploding Snap on top of the castle and the whole lot blew up, singeing his eyebrows. Percy burst out laughing, and fell to the floor. Annabeth rolled her eyes, and pulled her boyfriend back into his armchair. He continued to laugh into his hand, muffling the sound.

"Nice look, Ron…go well with your dress robes, that will. Hi Percy, Annabeth."

It was Fred and George. They sat down at the table with Ron, Hermione, Percy, Annabeth and I, as Ron felt how much damage had been done.

"Ron, can we borrow Pigwidgeon?" George asked.

"No, he's off delivering a letter." Ron said. "Why?"

"Because George wants to invite him to the ball," Fred answered sarcastically.

"Because _we _want to send a letter, you stupid great prat," said George.

"Who d'you two keep writing to, eh?" Ron asked.

"Nose out, Ron, or I'll burn that for you too," Fred waved his wand threateningly. "We'd better use a school owl then, George, come on…"

They left. Percy and Annabeth got up. "We should go, it's getting late." Annabeth said. "Good night, you three." They walked out of the common room.

Ron stopped feeling his eyebrows while watching them walk out. He then looked across the smoldering wreck of his card castle at me.

"We should get a move on, you know…ask someone. We don't want to end up with a pair of trolls."

Hermione let out a sputter of indignation. "A pair of…_what_, excuse me?"

"Well – you now," Ron said, shrugging. "I'd rather go alone than with – Eloise Midgen, say."

"Her acne's loads better lately – and she's really nice!"

"Her nose is off-center," Ron argued.

"Oh I see," Hermione said, bristling. "So basically, you're going to take the best-looking girl who'll have you, even if she's completely horrible?"

"Er – yeah, that sounds about right," Ron said.

"I'm going to bed," Hermione snapped, and she swept off toward the girls' staircase without another word.

The Hogwarts staff, demonstrating a continued desire to impress the visitors from Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, and Camps Half-Blood and Jupiter, seemed determined to show the castle at its best this Christmas. When the decorations went up, I noticed that they were the most stunning I had yet seen inside school. Everlasting icicles had been attached to the banisters of the marble staircase; the usual twelve Christmas trees in the Great Hall were bedecked with everything from luminous holly berries to real, hooting, golden owls, and the suits of armor had been bewitched to sing carols whenever anyone passed them.

And still, I hadn't asked Cho to the ball. Ron and I were getting very nervous now, though as I had pointed out, Ron would look less stupid without a partner; I was supposed to be starting the dancing with the other champions.

"I suppose there's always Moaning Myrtle," I said gloomily, referring to the ghost who haunted the girls' toilets on the second floor.

"Harry – we've just got to grit our teeth and do it," Ron's tone of voice suggested that we were planning the storming of an impregnable fortress. "When we get back to the common room tonight, we'll both have partners – agreed?"

"Er…okay," I said.

But every time I glimpsed Cho that day – during break, and then lunchtime, and once on the way of History of Magic – she was surrounded by friends. Didn't she _ever_ go somewhere alone? Could I perhaps ambush her as she was going to the bathroom? But no – she even seemed to go there with an escort of four or five girls. Yet if I didn't do it soon, she was bound to have been asked by somebody else.

I found it hard to concentrate on Snape's Potions test, and consequently forgot to add the key ingredient – a bezoar – meaning that I received bottom marks. I didn't care, though; I was too busy screwing up my courage for what I was about to do. When the bell rang, I grabbed my bag, and hurried to the dungeon floor.

"I'll meet you at dinner," I said to Ron and Hermione, and I dashed upstairs.

I'd just have to ask Cho for a private word, that was all…I hurried off through the packed corridors looking for her, and (rather sooner than I'd expected) I found her, emerging from a Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson.

"Er – Cho? Could I have a word with you?"

Giggling should have been made illegal, I thought furiously, as all the girls around Cho started doing it. She didn't, though. She said, "Okay," and followed me out of earshot from her classmates.

I turned to look at her and my stomach gave a weird lurch as though I had missed a step going downstairs. I stammered, "Er."

I couldn't ask her. I couldn't. But I had to. Cho stood there looking puzzled, watching me.

The words came out before I had quite got my tongue around them. "Wangoballwime?"

"Sorry?" Cho said.

"D'you – d'you want to go to the ball with me?" I said. I could feel myself getting red. Why now? _Why?_

"Oh!" Cho said, and she also went red. "Oh Harry, I'm really sorry," and she truly looked it. "I've already said I'll go with someone else."

"Oh," I said. It was odd; a moment before my insides had been writhing like snakes, but suddenly I didn't seem to have any insides at all.

"Oh okay," I said, "no problem." Cho said again, "I'm really sorry,"

"That's okay," I didn't know what to say.

We stood there looking at each other, and then Cho began, "Well –"

"Yeah," I said.

"Well, bye," Cho said, still very red. She walked away.

I called after her, before I could stop myself. "Who're you going with?"

"Oh – Cedric," she said. "Cedric Diggory."

"Oh right,"

My insides had come back again. It felt as though they had been filled with lead in their absence.

Completely forgetting about dinner, I walked slowly back up to Gryffindor Tower, Cho's voice echoing in my ears every step I took. "_Cedric – Cedric Diggory._" I had been starting to quite like Cedric – prepared to overlook the fact that he had been me at Quidditch, and was handsome, and popular. Now I realized that Cedric was in fact a useless pretty boy who didn't have enough brains to fill an eggcup. (**Harsh Harry, harsh.**)

"Fairy lights," I said dully to the Fat Lady.

"Yes, indeed, dear!" she trilled, straightening her new tinsel hair band as she swung forward to admit me.

Entering the common room, I looked around, and to my surprise I saw Ron sitting ashen-faced in a distant corner. Ginny was sitting with him, talking to him in what seemed like a low, soothing voice.

"What's up, Ron?" I said, joining them.

Ron looked at me, a blind sort of horror on his face. He said in an anguished voice, "Why did I do it? I don't know what came over me!"

I was confused. "What?"

"He – er – just asked Fleur Delacour to go to the ball with him," Ginny said. She looked as though she was fighting a smile. But she kept patting Ron's arm sympathetically.

"You _what?_" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Fleur was Ron's choice?

"I don't know what made me do it!" Ron gasped again. "What was I playing at? There were people – all around – I've gone mad – everyone watching! I was just walking past her in the entrance hall – she was standing there talking to Diggory – and it sort of came over me – and I asked her!" Ron moaned and put his face in his hands. He kept talking, though his words were barely distinguishable. "She looked at me like I was a sea slug or something. Didn't even answer. And then – I dunno – I just sort of came to my senses and ran for it."

"She's part veela, remember?" I said. "It wasn't your fault, I bet you just walked past when she was turning on the old charm for Diggory and got a blast of it – but she was wasting her time. He's going with Cho Chang."

Ron looked up, puzzled. "I asked her to go with me just now," I said dully, "and she told me."

Ginny suddenly stopped smiling.

"This is mad," Ron said. "We're the only ones left who haven't got anyone in Gryffindor – well, except Neville. Hey – guess who he asked? _Hermione!_"

"_What?_" I said, completely distracted by this startling news.

"Yeah, I know!" Ron said, some color coming back into his face as he started to laugh. "He told me after Potions! Said she's always been really nice, helping him out with work and stuff – but she told him she was already going with someone. Ha! As if! She just didn't want to go with Neville…I mean, who would?" I couldn't help it; I began to laugh with him.

"Don't!" Ginny cried, annoyed. "Don't laugh –"

Just then Hermione climbed in through the portrait hole. Coming over to join us, she said, "Why weren't you two at dinner?"

"Because – oh shut up laughing, you two – because they've both just been turned down by girls they asked to the ball!" Ginny said.

That shut Ron and I up. "Thanks a bunch, Ginny," Ron said sourly.

"All the good-looking ones taken, Ron?" Hermione said loftily. "Eloise Midgen starting to look quite pretty now, is she? Well, I'm sure you'll find someone _somewhere _who'll have you." But Ron wasn't listening. He was too busy staring at Hermione, as though suddenly seeing her in a whole new light.

"Hermione, Neville's right – you _are _a girl…"

"Oh, well spotted," she stated acidly.

"Well – you can come with one of us!"

"No, I can't," Hermione snapped. "I can't come with you." She was now blushing. "I'm already going with someone."

"No, you're not," Ron said. "You just said that to get rid of Neville!"

"Oh, _did _I?" Hermione's eyes flashed dangerously as she spoke. "Just because it's taken _you _three years to notice, Ron, doesn't mean no one _else _has spotted I'm a girl!"

Ron stared at her, and grinned.

"Okay, okay, we know you're a girl," he said. "That do? Will you come now?"

"I've already told you!" Hermione was close to screaming. "I'm going with someone else!"

And she stormed off toward the girls' dormitories again.

"She's lying," Ron remarked flatly, watching her stomp up the stairs.

"She's not," Ginny murmured.

"Who is it then?" Ron said sharply.

"I'm not telling you, it's her business." Ginny answered.

"Right," Ron looked extremely put out. "This is getting stupid. Ginny, _you _can just go with Harry, and I'll just –"

"I can't," Ginny went scarlet. "I'm going with – with Neville. He asked me when Hermione said no, and I thought…well…I'm not going to be able to otherwise, I'm not in fourth year." She looked very miserable. "I think I'll go and have dinner," she got up and walked to the portrait hole, her head bowed.

Ron goggled at me. "What's got into them?" he demanded.

But I had just seen Parvati and Lavender come in through the portrait hole. The time had come for drastic action.

"Wait here," I told Ron, and I stood up, walked straight up to Parvati, and said, "Parvati? Will you go to the ball with me?"

Parvati went into a fit of giggles. I waited for them to subside, my fingers crossed in the pocket of my robes. Finally, she said, blushing furiously, "Yes, all right then."

"Thanks," I said in relief. "Lavender – will you go with Ron?"

"She's going with Seamus," Parvati said, and the pair of them giggled harder than ever. I sighed.

"Can't you think of anyone who'd go with Ron?" I asked, lowering my voice so Ron wouldn't hear.

"What about Hermione Granger?" Parvati suggested. I answered, "She's going with someone else." Parvati looked astonished. Keenly, she said, "Ooooh – _who?_"

I shrugged. "No idea. So what about Ron?"

"Well…" Parvati said slowly, "I suppose my sister might…Padma, you know…in Ravenclaw. I'll ask her if you like."

"Yeah, that would be great," I replied. "Let me know, will you?"

And I went back over to Ron, feeling that this ball was a lot more trouble than it was worth, and hoping very much that Padma Patil's nose was dead center.

* * *

**The 18th chapter is here! I had a bit of a hard time adding that bit with Percy and Annabeth, so I hope it turned out alright.**

**The next chapter is the Yule Ball! Yay! I've got some ideas, but it might be hard to write, so I'll try my best! I hope you enjoyed the 18th chapter of the Godly TriWizard Tournament!**


	19. Chapter 19: The Yule Ball

Chapter 19: The Yule Ball

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and Heroes of Olympus.**

Percy's POV:

When I woke up on Christmas Day, I was surprised to see a mound of presents by my bed. How'd they gotten here? I wondered.

On the top of the stack was a big blue box. I knew who it was from instantly. I ripped the wrappings off excitedly, and opened the box. The first thing I saw on top of some tissue paper was a letter from Mom and Paul.

"_Percy, Merry Christmas! We hope you're having fun in the UK. Remember to stay out of trouble! We love you, and we can't wait to see you again when you come home. Happy Holidays, Percy! Love, Sally and Paul."_

I put the letter away and threw the tissue paper on the ground. Under it was containers of blue chocolate chip cookies from Mom, and a sword-cleaning kit from Paul. Immediately I pulled the lid off of one container, took a cookie, and stuffed it in my mouth. I missed this stuff, I thought.

I moved onto the next gift which was from Annabeth. It was a thin, medium-sized box. After tearing off the wrapping, and removing the lid, I saw my gift. It was a picture of me and Annabeth, smiling and blushing, on the shoulders of Clarisse, Travis and Connor, and the other campers who were about to throw us into the lake. The photo was in a picture frame decorated with tridents and owls. I loved it. It was a perfect gift.

After I opened all my other presents, I met up with Annabeth in the main room of our dorm. When she saw me, Annabeth walked over to me and kissed my lips softly. When our lips parted, she whispered, "Thanks Percy. The necklace is beautiful. It must have been expensive." I told her, "The picture was perfect. And, nothing but the best is for my Wise Girl." We looked into each other's eyes lovingly.

"Get a room, you two," Travis burst out.

I looked at Travis. "You want to be alone with Katie that badly?"

Travis didn't answer; he was blushing furiously, staring at the daughter of Demeter. Katie was happily watering some plants in the windowsill, and Travis seemed to be trying to get Katie's attention by stealing her watering can. She glared at him, snatched back her watering can, and gave Travis a peck on the lips, before returning to her plants.

When everyone else woke up, we went down to breakfast together. We spent most of the morning in our dorm, where everyone was enjoying their presents or training, then went back to the Great Hall for a delicious lunch, which included at least a hundred turkeys and Christmas puddings, and large piles of Cribbage's Wizarding Crackers.

We went out onto the grounds in the afternoon with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the Weasley Twins; the snow was untouched except for the deep channel made by the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students on their way up to the castle. All the girls chose to watch us boys engage in a snowball fight instead of joining in, and at five o'clock they all said that they were going back upstairs to get ready for the ball, Piper and Reyna a bit grudgingly.

"What, you need three hours?" Ron said, looking at them incredulously and paying for his lapse of concentration when a large snowball, thrown by George, hit him hard on the side of the head. "Who're you going with, Hermione?" he yelled, but she just waved and disappeared up the stone steps with Annabeth, Piper, Hazel and Reyna into the castle.

At seven o'clock, when it had become hard to aim properly, we abandoned our snowball fight, walked back to our dorms, changed, and met back up in the main room.

We (all the male demigods) had decided to all wear black suits, a tie that was the color of our godly parent, and a handkerchief in our suit jacket pocket, also that color. I felt uncomfortable, because suits were weren't the best clothes to fight in if we were attacked, but I knew Hogwarts was safe. No monsters (not counting the drakons) had attacked us yet.

After about five minutes, the girls came down to the main room. Annabeth was stunning. She was wearing a roman silver dress with light gray heels. Her princess curls looked even more perfect than usual, and sparkling on her neck was her Christmas present from me, a silver necklace with an owl pendant. (**There isn't going to be a description on any of the other girls' clothes because Percy didn't pay attention to them because of Annabeth, that love-struck idiot, so feel free to use your imagination ^-^)**

"Everyone's here? Let's go!" Leo said cheerily. Although he looked happy, his smile seemed fake. I wondered why.

The entrance hall was packed with students, all milling around waiting for eight o'clock, when the doors to the Great Hall would be thrown open. The people who were meeting partners from different groups (Nico, for instance) were edging through the crowd trying to find one another. We met up with Harry, Ron, and their partners, who were twins.

"Where _is _Hermione? I don't see her anywhere! Have you seen her?" Ron asked. His dress robes were strange, and I was glad that I was wearing a suit, for once. I could hear Leo and the Stolls laughing quietly at Ron's attire behind me.

"Nope." I said.

The oak front doors opened, and everyone turned to look as the Durmstrang students entered with Karkaroff. Krum was at the front of the group, and his partner was a girl in blue robes I didn't know. Over their heads I saw that an area of lawn right in front of the castle had been turned into a grotto full of fairy lights which were fluttering over statues of Santa Claus and his reindeer.

Then Professor McGonagall's voice called, "Champions over here, please!"

Me, Annabeth, Reyna, Malcolm, Harry, and his partner told our friends goodbye, and walked forward, the chattering crowd parting to let us through. Professor McGonagall told us to wait on one side of the doors while everyone else went inside; we were to enter the Great Hall in procession when the rest of the students sat down.

Fleur Delacour and her partner were nearest to the doors, with Cedric and his partner after them, then Krum and…Hermione? No way, I thought. But I was right. Her hair was no longer bushy, but straight and shiny, and she was holding herself differently, more regal. Harry also seemed to notice, and his jaw was open for so long I thought he was going to catch flies. Hermione looked over and waved at us. Harry's partner was staring at Hermione in disbelief, and a group of girls glared at Hermione when they walked past. Draco's date gaped at her as Harry did when she walked by with Malfoy, and even he didn't seem to be able to throw and insult at her. But Ron walked past without looking at Hermione.

Harry and his partner were after Krum and Hermione, and Annabeth and I after them. Reyna and Malcolm were last, and he was very antsy to say the least, while Reyna wore a blank look.

Once everyone was settled in the Hall, Professor McGonagall told us to follow her. We did so, and everyone in the Great Hall clapped as we entered and started walking up toward a large round table at the top of the Hall, where the judges were sitting.

The walls of the Hall had all been covered in sparkling silver frost, with hundreds of garlands of mistletoe and ivy crossing the starry black ceiling. The House tables had vanished; instead, there were about a hundred smaller, lantern-lit ones, each seating about a dozen people.

In pairs, we walked up to the top table in line. Dumbledore and Chiron smiled happily as us champions and our partners approached, but Karkaroff was watching Krum and Hermione with narrowed eyes. Ludo Bagman was clapping enthusiastically as any of the students; and Madame Maxime was applauding us politely. But Mr. Crouch, I realized, wasn't here. In his seat was a red-haired man who was probably related to Ron.

When us champions and our partners reached the table, I saw the man staring pointedly at Harry and he drew out an empty chair next to him. Harry took the hint and sat down next to him, and me, Annabeth, Reyna, and Malcolm followed. The man only paid attention to Harry, and began to talk to him before he could even ask why he was here, instead of Crouch.

"I've been promoted. I'm now Mr. Crouch's personal assistant, and I'm here representing him." The man wore a very smug look.

"Why didn't he come?" Harry asked. The man immediately answered, saying, "I'm afraid to say Mr. Crouch isn't well, not well at all. Hasn't been right since the World Cup. Hardly surprising – overwork. He's not as young as he was – though still quite brilliant, of course, the mind remains as great as it ever was. But the World Cup was a fiasco for the whole Ministry, and then, Mr. Crouch suffered a huge personal shock with the misbehavior of that house-elf of his, Blinky, or whatever she was called. Naturally, he dismissed her immediately afterward, but – well, as I say, he's getting on, he needs looking after, and I think he's found a definite drop in his home comforts after she left. And then we had the tournament to arrange, which was even more difficult than it had to be, seeing those demigods were participating this year," the man finally acknowledged us by glaring, "and the aftermath of the Cup to deal with – that revolting Skeeter woman buzzing around – no, poor man, he's having a well-earned, quiet Christmas. I'm just glad he knew he had someone he could rely upon to take his place."

I was beginning to get hungry. There was no food yet on the glittering golden plates, but small menus were lying in front of each of them. I picked up mine uncertainly and looked around – there were no waiters. Dumbledore, however, looked carefully at his menu, then said clearly to his plate, "Pork chops!"

And pork chops appeared. Getting the idea, the rest of the table placed our orders with our plates too (burgers for me, of course, although Fleur looked at me rather disgustedly). We sacrificed some food to the gods (although Romans didn't have that tradition, Reyna did and was whispering "Bellona and Neptune." Why Neptune, I didn't know. After the smell of burning food vanished, I looked over at Reyna and Malcolm, and Reyna, because Malcolm had never been there, was describing Camp Jupiter.

"My favorite place is the bath house. 'You haven't lived until you've had a Roman bath.'" I grinned, recognizing the quote.

I looked around the Hall. Hagrid was sitting at one of the other staff tables, wearing a hairy brown suit and gazing up at our table. I saw him give a small wave, and looking around, saw Madame Maxime return it, her opals glittering in the candlelight. I guess that could work, I thought. But their child would be a full giant, right? They're obviously giants, but they were too small to be full, so I guessed that they were each half.

When all the food had been eaten, Dumbledore stood up and asked the students to do the same. Then, with a wave of his wand, all the tables zoomed back along the walls leaving the floor clear, and then he conjured a raised platform into existence along the right wall. A set of drums, several guitars, a lute, a cello, and some bagpipes were set on it. The musicians, The Weird Sisters, were now walking up unto the stage to wildly enthusiastic applause; they were extremely hairy and wore black robes that had been artfully ripped apart and torn. They picked up their instruments and Harry and I, who had been so interested in watching them that we'd almost forgotten what was coming, suddenly realized that the lanterns on all the other tables had gone out, and the other champions and their partners were standing up.

"C'mon Percy, we're supposed to dance." Annabeth whispered.

I stood up. The Weird Sisters struck up a slow, sad tune; I walked onto the brightly lit dance floor, and began dancing with Annabeth.

I concentrated on not stepping on her toes (as I did in Westover Hall years ago) as we danced. I wasn't the greatest dancer in the world. But it felt nice, slowly revolving on the spot. I stared lovingly at Annabeth, and she also did to me. Very soon, many of the watching people came onto the dance floor, so us champions and our partners were no longer the center of attention. Jason and Piper were dancing nearby, and I smirked when I saw Jason – he was barely floating off the ground, so that he wouldn't step on Piper's feet. You would expect him to know how, being Roman, but he was as clueless as me.

"It's almost time. One minute." Annabeth whispered. I asked, "One minute until what?"

"You'll see," Annabeth looked off into the distance. I followed her gaze, and she was watching the door. Was someone coming?

The doors burst open. The room became silent. In the doorway was a girl. She had caramel hair that was braided over one shoulder, dark almond-shaped eyes, and a milky face that appeared timeless. She was wearing a white sleeveless Greek dress. _Calyspo._ She was finally free.

Calypso scanned the crowd, and found who she was looking for. She raced towards…Leo?! Leo, the happiest I'd ever seen him, ran to Calypso, and they embraced. After a minute, they broke apart, and leaned their foreheads together. Piper squealed, and I grinned at her. Although she didn't really act like a daughter of Aphrodite, she definitely was right now.

I didn't really know how I felt. I was definitely happy for them, but Calypso had always been my biggest what-if. Now, she had Leo. But, that was selfish of me. I already had Annabeth. Leo, to be honest, never had anybody. I didn't want to take her away from him, when I already have Annabeth by my side.

The Weird Sisters struck up T.G.I.F by Katy Perry (turns out, the Weird Sisters were the some of the composers of the song) taking the attention off of Leo and Calypso. Soon, everyone was screaming "T.G.I.F! T.G.I.F!" (**I'm not a fan of Katy Perry, I just think it's a catchy song, so I chose it)**

We danced (or should I say sang?) the night away.

* * *

**Kriawesome, I read all of my reviews, whether they're from old chapters or not ^-^ I did mean 18th chapter, the 18th chapter wasn't a chapter (does that make sense? I'm not sure.) You'll get your wish: a new chapter today, and the next chapter on Saturday. I'll wish you happy birthday in that chapter :D Turns out, I can't update today. I'm sorrrrryyyyyyy. But, happy birthday ^-^**

**This chapter is late, but I hope you like it! I surely did. Percabeth! Tratie! Caleo! My favorite couples in PJO/HoO, with the addition of Jeyna (although Tratie and Jeyna aren't legit couples, but idc, I love them anyways)**

**The 20****th**** chapter will be up on Tuesday! I hope you enjoyed the 19****th**** chapter of the Godly TriWizard Tournament!**


	20. Chapter 20: Rita Skeeter's Scoop

Chapter 20: Rita Skeeter's Scoop

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus.**

Harry's POV:

Everybody got up late on Boxing Day. The Gryffindor common room was much quieter than it had been lately, many yawns punctuating the lazy conversations. Ron and Hermione seemed to have reached an unspoken agreement not to discuss their argument over Krum and Hermione going to the ball together. They were being quite friendly with each other, though oddly formal. Ron and I wasted no time telling Hermione about the conversation we had overheard between Hagrid and Madame Maxime that night out on the grounds, but Hermione didn't seem to find the news that Hagrid was a half-giant nearly as shocking as Ron did.

"Well, I though he must be," she said, shrugging. "I knew he couldn't be pure giant because they're about twenty feet tall. And, I overheard Annabeth and the others talking about him in their first Care of Magical Creatures class. Since they'd just gotten out of a giant war, they were a bit weary of him. But, they can't be _all_ be horrible…It's the same sort of prejudice that people have towards werewolves…Although, those giants they had to fight were absolutely terrible…"

Ron looked as though he would have liked to reply at the 'giants can't all be horrible' comment scathingly, but perhaps he didn't want another row, because he contented himself with shaking his head disbelievingly while Hermione wasn't looking.

It was time now to think of the homework we had all been neglecting during the first week of the holidays. Everybody seemed to be feeling rather flat now that Christmas was over – everybody except me. I was starting (once again) to feel slightly nervous.

The trouble was that February the twenty-fourth looked a lot closer from this side of Christmas, and I still hadn't done anything about working out the clue inside the golden egg. Therefore, I started taking it out of my trunk every time I went up to the dormitory, opening it, and listening intently. I knew it had something to do with Poseidon, but I couldn't figure out anything. Once, I'd poured water on the egg, but it did nothing. I strained to think what the sound reminded me of, apart from thirty musical saws, but I had never heard anything else like it. I closed the egg, shook it vigorously, and opened it again to see if the sound had changed, but it hadn't. I tried asking the egg questions, shouting over all the wailing, but nothing happened. I even threw the egg across the room – but that was out of frustration.

(I know that in the book Cedric has already told him, but in this fanfic it's going to be in the next chapter.)

And so the first day of the new term arrived, and I set off to lesson, weighed down with books, parchment, and quills as usual, but also with the lurking off the egg heavy in my stomach, as though I were carrying it around with me too.

Snow was still thick upon the grounds, and the greenhouse windows were covered in condensation so thick that we couldn't see out of them in Herbology. Nobody was looking forward to Care of Magical Creatures much in this weather, though as Ron said, the skrewts would probably warm us up nicely, either by chasing us, or blasting off so forcefully that Hagrid's cabin would watch fire.

When we arrived at Hagrid's cabin, however, we found an elderly witch with closely cropped hair and a very prominent chin standing before his front door. She barked at us as we struggled toward her through the snow, "Hurry up, now, the bell rang five minutes ago."

"Who're you?" Ron stared at her. "Where's Hagrid?"

"My name is Professor Grubbly-Plank," she said briskly. "I am your temporary Care of Magical Creatures teacher."

I repeated loudly, since she didn't seem to hear Ron, "Where's Hagrid?"

"He is indisposed," Professor Grubbly-Plank said shortly.

Soft and unpleasant laughter reached my ears. I turned; Draco Malfoy and the rest of Slytherins were joining the class. All of them looked gleeful, and none of them looked surprised to see Professor Grubbly-Plank.

"This way, please," Professor Grubbly-Plank strode off around the paddock where the Beauxbatons horses were shivering. Ron, Hermione and I followed her, looking back over our shoulders at Hagrid's cabin. All the curtains were closed. Was Hagrid in there, alone and ill?

"What's wrong with Hagrid?" I asked, hurrying to catch up with our temporary teacher.

"Never you mind," she said as though she thought I was being nosy, which I thought was unbelievable.

"I do mind, though." I replied hotly. "He's my friend. What's up with him?"

Professor Grubbly-Plank acted as though she couldn't hear me. She led me past the paddock where the huge Beauxbatons horses were standing, huddled against the cold, and toward a tree on the edge of the forest, where a large and beautiful unicorn was tethered.

Many of the girls "oooooohed!" at the sight of it.

"Oh, it's so beautiful!" whispered Lavender Brown. "How did she get it? They're supposed to be really hard to catch!"

The unicorn was so brightly white it made the snow around it look gray. It was pawing the ground nervously with its golden hooves and throwing back its horned head.

"Boys keep back!" commanded Professor Grubbly-Plank, throwing out an arm and catching me hard in the chest. I groaned, in pain. "They prefer the woman's touch, unicorns. Girls to the front, and approach with care, come on, easy does it…"

She and the girls walked slowly forward toward the unicorn, leaving us boys standing near the paddock fence, watching. The moment Professor Grubbly-Plank was out of earshot, I turned to Ron.

"What d'you reckon's wrong with him? You don't think a skrewt – ?"

"Oh he hasn't been attacked, Potter, if that's what you're thinking," Malfoy said softly. "No, he's just too ashamed to show his big, ugly face."

Did Malfoy know something? "What d'you mean?" I said sharply.

Malfoy put his hand inside the pocket of robes and pulled out a folded page of newsprint. He must've been waiting for this moment.

"There you go," he said. "Hate to break it to you, Potter…"

He smirked as I snatched the page, unfolded it, and read it, with Ron, Seamus, Dean, and Neville looking over my shoulder. It was an article topped with a picture of Hagrid looking extremely shifty.

** DUMBLEDORE'S GIANT MISTAKE**

Albus Dumbledore, eccentric Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, has never been afraid to make controversial staff appointments, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. In September of this year, he hired Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, the notoriously jinx-happy ex-Auror, to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts, a decision that caused many raised eyebrows at the Ministry of Magic, given Moody's well-known habit of attacking anybody who makes a sudden movement in his presence. Mad-Eye Moody, however, looks responsible and kindly when set beside the part-human Dumbledore employs to teach Care of Magical Creatures. Rubeus Hagrid, who admits to being expelled from Hogwarts in his third year, has enjoyed the position of Gamekeeper at the school ever since, a job secured for him by Dumbledore. Last year, however, Hagrid used his mysterious influence over the headmaster to secure the additional post of Care of Magical Creatures teacher, over the heads of many better-qualified candidates. An alarming large and ferocious-looking man, Hagrid has been using his new-found authority to terrify the students in his care with a succession of horrific creatures. While Dumbledore turns a blind eye, Hagrid has maimed several pupils during a series of lessons that many admit to being "very frightening." "I was attacked by a hippogriff, and my friend Vincent Crabbe got a bad bite off a flobberworm," says Draco Malfoy, a fourth year student. "We all hate Hagrid, but we're just too scared to say anything." Hagrid has no intention of ceasing his campaign of intimidation, however.

In conversation with a Daily Prophet reporter last month, he admitted breeding creatures he has dubbed "Blast-Ended Skrewts," highly dangerous crosses between manticores and fire crabs. The creation of new breeds of magical creature is, of course, an activity usually closely observed by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Hagrid, however, considers himself to be above such petty restrictions. "I was just having some fun," he says, before hastily changing the subject. As if this were not enough, the Daily Prophet has now unearthed evidence that Hagrid is not - as he has always pretended - a pure-blood wizard. He is not, in fact, even pure human. His mother, we can exclusively reveal, is none other than the giantess Fridwulfa, whose whereabouts are currently unknown. Bloodthirsty and brutal, the giants brought themselves to the point of extinction by warring amongst themselves during the last century. The handful that remained joined the ranks of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and were responsible for some of the worst mass Muggle killings of his reign of terror. While many of the giants who served He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named were killed by Aurors working against the Dark Side, Fridwulfa was not among them. It is possible she escaped to one of the giant communities still existing in foreign mountain ranges. If his antics during Care of Magical Creatures lessons are any guide, however, Fridwulfa's son appears to have inherited her brutal nature. In a bizarre twist, Hagrid is reputed to have developed a close friendship with the boy who brought around You-Know-Who's fall from power - thereby driving Hagrid's own mother, like the rest of You-Know-Who's supporters, into hiding. Perhaps Harry Potter is unaware of this unpleasant truth about his large friend - but Albus Dumbledore surely has a duty to ensure that Harry Potter, along with his fellow students, is warned about the dangers of associating with half-giants.

I finished reading and looked up at Ron, whose mouth was hanging open. He whispered, "How did she find out?"

But that wasn't what was bothering me. I spat at Malfoy, "What d'you mean, 'we all hate Hagrid'? What's this rubbish about _him"_ – I pointed at Crabbe – "getting a bad bite off a flobberworm? They haven't even got teeth!"

Crabbe was sniggering, apparently very pleased with himself.

"Well, I think this should put an end to the oaf's teaching career," Malfoy's eyes glinted. "Half-giant…and there was me thinking he'd just swallowed a bottle of Skele-Gro when he was young…None of the mummies and daddies are going to like this at all…They'll be worried he'll eat their kids, ha, ha…"

"You – ?'

"Are you paying attention, over there?"

Professor Grubbly-Plank's voice carried over to us; the girls were all clustered around the unicorn now, stroking it. I was so angry that the _Daily Prophet _article shook in my hands as I turned to stare unseeingly at the unicorn, whose many magical properties Professor Grubbly-Plank was now enumerating in a loud voice, so that us boys could hear too.

"I hope she stays, that woman!" Parvati Patil exclaimed when the lesson had ended and we were all heading back to the castle for lunch. "That's more what I thought Care of Magical Creatures would be about…proper creatures like unicorns, not monsters…"

"What about Hagrid?" I said angrily as we went up the steps.

"What about him?" Parvati's voice was hard as steel. "He can still be a gamekeeper, can't he?"

Parvati had been very cool toward me since the ball. I supposed that I ought to have paid her a bit more attention, but she seemed to have a good time all the same. She was certainly telling anybody who would listen that she had made arrangements to meet the boy from Beauxabtons in Hogsmeade on the next weekend trip.

"That _was _a really good lesson," Hermione commented as we entered the Great Hall. "I didn't know half the things Professor Grubbly-Plank told us about uni –"

"Look at this!" I snarled, shoving the _Daily Prophet _article directly under Hermione's nose.

Her mouth fell open as she read. Her reaction was exactly the same as Ron's. "How did that horrible Skeeter woman find out? You don't think Hagrid _told _her?"

"No," I said, leading the way to the Gryffindor table and throwing myself into a chair, furious. "He never even told us, did he? I reckon she was so ad he wouldn't give her loads of horrible stuff about e, she went ferreting around to get him back."

"Maybe she heard him telling Madame Maxime at the ball," Hermione murmured.

"We'd have seen her in the garden!" Ron said. "Anyway, she's not supposed to come to school anyore, Hagrid said Dumbledore banned her…"

"Maybe she's got an Invisibility Cloak," I ladled chicken casserole onto my plate and splashing it everywhere in my anger. "Sort of thing she's do, isn't it, hide in the bushes listening to people."

"Like what you and Ron did, you mean," Hermione mentioned.

"We weren't trying to hear him!" Ron said indignantly. "We didn't have any choice! The stupid prat, talking about his giantess mother where anyone could have heard him!"

"We've got to go and see him," I said. "This evening, after Divination. "Tell him we want him back…you _do _want him back?" I shot at Hermione.

"I – well, I'm not going to pretend it didn't make a nice change, having a proper Care of Magical Creatures lesson for once – but I do want Hagrid back, of course I do!" Hermione added hastily, quailing under my furious stare.

So that evening after dinner, the three of us left the castle once more and went through the frozen grounds to Hagrid's cabin. We knocked, and Fang's booming barks answered.

"Hagrid, it's us!" I shouted, pounding on the door. "Open up!"

Hagrid didn't answer. We could hear Fang scratching at the door, whining, but it didn't open. We hammered on it for ten more minutes; Ron even went and banged on one of the windows, but there was no response.

"What's he avoiding us for?" Hermione said when we had finally given up and were walking back to the school. "He surely doesn't think we'd care about him being half-giant?"

But it seemed Hagrid did care. We didn't see a sign of him all week. He didn't appear at the staff table at mealtimes, we didn't see him going about his gamekeeper duties on the grounds, and Professor Grubbly-Plank continued to take the Care of Magical Creatures classes. Malfoy was gloating at every possible opportunity.

"Missing your half-breed pal?" he kept whispering to me whenever there was a teacher around, so that he was safe from my retaliation. "Missing the elephant-man?"

There was a Hogsmeade visit halfway through January. Hermione was very surprised that I was going to go. "I just thought you'd want to take advantage of the common room being quiet," she said. "Really get to work on that egg."

"Oh, I – I reckon I've got a pretty good idea what it's about now," I lied.

"Have you really?" Hermione exclaimed, looking impressed. "Well done!"

My insides gave a guilty squirm, but I ignored them. I still had five weeks to work out that egg clue, after all, and that was ages...whereas if I went into Hogsmeade, I might run into Hagrid, and get a chance to persuade him to come back.

Ron, Hermione and I left the castle together on Saturday and set off through the cold, wet grounds toward the gates. As we passed the Durmstrang ship moored in the lake, we saw Viktor Krum emerge onto the deck, dressed in nothing but swimming trunks. He was very skinny indeed, but apparently a lot tougher than he looked, because he climbed up onto the side of the ship, stretched out his arms, and dived, right into the lake.

"He's mad!" I shouted, staring at Krum's dark head as it bobbed out into the middle of the lake. "It must be freezing, it's January!"

"Percy goes in the lake all the time. Besides, it's a lot colder where Krum comes from," Hermione said. "I suppose it feels quite warm to him."

"Yeah, but there's still the giant squid," Ron said. He didn't sound anxious - if anything, he sounded hopeful. Hermione noticed his tone of voice and frowned.

"He's really nice, you know," she said. "He's not at all like you'd think, coming from Durmstrang. He likes it much better here, he told me."

Ron said nothing. He hadn't mentioned Viktor Krum since the ball, but I had found a miniature arm under my bed on Boxing Day, which had looked very much as though it had been snapped off a small model figure wearing Bulgarian Quidditch robes.

I kept my eyes skinned for a sign of Hagrid all the way down the slushy High Street, and suggested a visit to the Three Broomsticks once I had ascertained that Hagrid was not in any of the shops.

The pub was as crowded as ever, but one quick look around at all the tables told me that Hagrid wasn't there. Heart sinking, I went up to the bar with Ron and Hermione, ordered three butterbeers from Madam Rosmerta, and thought gloomily that he might just as well have stayed behind and listened to the egg wailing after all.

"Doesn't he ever go into the office?" Hermione whispered suddenly. "Look!"

She pointed into the mirror behind the bar, and I saw Ludo Bagman reflected there, sitting in a shadowy corner with a bunch of goblins. Bagman was talking very fast in a low voice to the goblins, all of whom had their arms crossed and were looking rather menacing.

It was indeed odd, I thought, that Bagman was here at the Three Broomsticks on a weekend when there was no event, and therefore no judging to be done. I watched Bagman in the mirror. He was looking strained again, quite as strained as he had that night in the forest before the Dark Mark had appeared. But just then Bagman glanced over at the bar, saw me, and stood up.

"In a moment, in a moment!" I heard him say brusquely to the goblins, and Bagman hurried through the pub toward me, his boyish grin back in place.

"Harry!" he said. "How are you? Been hoping to run into you! Everything going all right?"

"Fine, thanks," I said.

"Wonder if I could have a quick, private word, Harry?" Bagman asked eagerly. "You couldn't give us a moment, you two, could you?"

"Er - okay," Ron said, and he and Hermione went off to find a table.

Bagman led me along the bar to the end furthest from Madam Rosmerta.

"Well, I just thought I'd congratulate you again on your splendid performance against that Horntail, Harry," Bagman said. "Really superb."

"Thanks," I replied, but I knew this couldn't be all that Bagman wanted to say, because he could have congratulated me in front of Ron and Hermione. Bagman didn't seem in any particular rush to spill the beans, though. I saw him glance into the mirror over the bar at the goblins, who were all watching him and I in silence through their dark, slanting eyes.

"Absolute nightmare," Bagman told me in an undertone, noticing me watching the goblins too. "Their English isn't too good . . . it's like being back with all the Bulgarians at the Quidditch World Cup…but at least they used sign language another human could recognize. This lot keep gabbling in Gobblede-gook…and I only know one word of Gobbledegook. Bladvak. It means 'pickax.' I don't like to use it in case they think I'm threatening them."

He gave a short, booming laugh.

"What do they want?" I noticed how the goblins were still watching Bagman very closely.

"Er – well…" said Bagman, looking suddenly nervous. "They…er…they're looking for Barty Crouch."

"Why are they looking for him here?" I wondered. "He's at the Ministry in London, isn't he?"

"Er…as a matter of fact, I've no idea where he is," said Bagman. "He's sort of...stopped coming to work. Been absent for a couple of weeks now. Young Percy, his assistant, says he's ill. Apparently he's just been sending instructions in by owl. But would you mind not mentioning that to anyone. Harry? Because Rita Skeeter's still poking around everywhere she can, and I'm willing to bet she'd work up Bartys illness into something sinister. Probably say he's gone missing like Bertha Jorkins."

"Have you heard anything about Bertha Jorkins?" I asked.

"No," said Bagman, looking strained again. "I've got people looking, of course ..."

(About time, I thought) "and it's all very strange. She definitely arrived in Albania, because she met her second cousin there. And then she left the cousin's house to go south and see an aunt…and she seems to have vanished without trace en route. Blowed if I can see where she's got to…she doesn't seem the type to elope, for instance…but still…What are we doing, talking about goblins and Bertha Jorkins? I really wanted to ask you" — he lowered his voice — "how are you getting on with your golden egg?"

"Er…not bad," I lied.

Bagman seemed to know I wasn't being honest.

"Listen, Harry," he said (still in a very low voice), "I feel very bad about all this…you were thrown into this tournament, you didn't volunteer for it...and if…" (his voice was so quiet now, I had to lean closer to listen) "if I can help at all... a prod in the right direction…I've taken a liking to you…the way you got past that dragon!...well, just say the word."

I stared up into Bagman's round, rosy face and his wide, baby-blue eyes.

"We're supposed to work out the clues alone, aren't we?" I said, careful to keep my voice casual and not sound as though I was accusing the head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports of breaking the rules.

"Well…well, yes," said Bagman impatiently, "but – come on. Harry – we all want a Hogwarts victory, don't we?"

"Have you offered Cedric help?" I said.

The smallest of frowns creased Bagman's smooth face. "No, I haven't," he said. "I – well, like I say, I've taken a liking to you. Just thought I'd offer..."

"Well, thanks," I said, "but I think I'm nearly there with the egg . . . couple more days should crack it."

I wasn't entirely sure why I was refusing Bagman's help, except that Bagman was almost a stranger to me, and accepting his assistance would feel somehow much more like cheating than asking advice from Ron, Hermione, or Sirius.

Bagman looked almost affronted, but couldn't say much more as Fred and George turned up at that point.

"Hello, Mr. Bagman," Fred smiled brightly. "Can we buy you a drink?"

"Er…no," Bagman declined, with a last disappointed glance at me, "no, thank you, boys ..."

Fred and George looked quite as disappointed as Bagman, who was surveying me as though I had let him down badly.

"Well, I must dash," he said. "Nice seeing you all. Good luck, Harry."

He hurried out of the pub. The goblins all slid off their chairs and exited after him.

I went to rejoin Ron and Hermione.

"What did he want?" Ron said, the moment I had sat down.

"He offered to help me with the golden egg," I said.

"He shouldn't be doing that!" said Hermione, looking very shocked. "He's one of the judges! And anyway, you've already worked it out – haven't you?"

"Er…nearly," I said untruthfully.

"Well, I don't think Dumbledore would like it if he knew Bagman was trying to persuade you to cheat!" Hermione still looked deeply disapproving. "I hope he's trying to help Cedric as much!"

"He's not, I asked," I replied.

"Who cares if Diggory's getting help?" Ron commented. I privately agreed.

"Those goblins didn't look very friendly," said Hermione, sipping her butterbeer. "What were they doing here?"

"Looking for Crouch, according to Bagman," said Harry. "He's still ill. Hasn't been into work."

"Maybe Percy's poisoning him," Ron said. "Probably thinks if Crouch snuffs it he'll be made head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation."

Hermione gave Ron a don't-joke-about-things-like-that look, and said, "Funny, goblins looking for Mr. Crouch...hey'd normally deal with the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures."

"Crouch can speak loads of different languages, though," I mentioned. "Maybe they need an interpreter."

"Worrying about poor 'ickle goblins, now, are you?" Ron asked Hermione. "Thinking of starting up S.P.U.G. or something? Society for the Protection of Ugly Goblins?"

"Ha, ha, ha," said Hermione sarcastically. "Goblins don't need protection. Haven't you been listening to what Professor Binns has been telling us about goblin rebellions?"

"No," Ron and I said together.

"Well, they're quite capable of dealing with wizards," Hermione informed us, taking another sip of butterbeer. "They're very clever. They're not like house-elves, who never stick up for themselves."

"Uh-oh," said Ron, staring at the door.

Rita Skeeter had just entered. She was wearing banana-yellow robes today; her long nails were painted shocking pink, and she was accompanied by her paunchy photographer. She bought drinks, and she and the photographer made their way through the crowds to a table nearby. Ron, Hermione and I were glaring at her as she approached. She was talking fast and looking very satisfied about something.

"... didn't seem very keen to talk to us, did he, Bozo? Now, why would that be, do you think? And what's he doing with a pack of goblins in tow anyway? Showing them the sights…what nonsense...he was always a bad liar. Reckon something's up? Think we should do a bit of digging? 'Disgraced Ex-Head of Magical Games and Sports, Ludo Bagman…' Snappy start to a sentence, Bozo – we just need to find a story to fit it -"

"Trying to ruin someone else's life?" I said loudly.

A few people looked around. Rita Skeeter's eyes widened behind her jeweled spectacles as she saw who had spoken.

"Harry!" she said, beaming. "How lovely! Why don't you come and join – ?"

"I wouldn't come near you with a ten-foot broomstick," I shouted furiously. "What did you do that to Hagrid for, eh?"

Rita Skeeter raised her heavily penciled eyebrows.

"Our readers have a right to the truth, Harry. I am merely doing my –"

"Who cares if he's half-giant?" I yelled. "There's nothing wrong with him!"

The whole pub had gone very quiet. Madam Rosmerta was staring over from behind the bar, apparently oblivious to the fact that the flagon she was filling with mead was overflowing.

Rita Skeeter's smile flickered very slightly, but she hitched it back almost at once; she snapped open her crocodile-skin handbag, pulled out her Quick-Quotes Quill, and said, "How about giving me an interview about the Hagrid you know. Harry? The man behind the muscles? Your unlikely friendship and the reasons behind it. Would you call him a father substitute?"

Hermione stood up very abruptly, her butterbeer clutched in her hand as though it were a grenade.

"You horrible woman," she said, through gritted teeth, "you don't care, do you, anything for a story, and anyone will do, won't they? Even Ludo Bagman –"

"Sit down, you silly little girl, and don't talk about things you don't understand," Rita Skeeter said coldly, her eyes hardening as they fell on Hermione. "I know things about Ludo Bagman that would make your hair curl...not that it needs it –" she added, eyeing Hermione's bushy hair.

"Let's go," said Hermione, "c'mon. Harry – Ron…"

We left; many people were staring at us as we went. I glanced back as we reached the door. Rita Skeeter's Quick-Quotes Quill was out; it was zooming backward and forward over a piece of parchment on the table.

"She'll be after you next, Hermione," Ron warned in a low and worried voice as we walked quickly back up the street.

"Let her try!" Hermione stated defiantly; she was shaking with rage. "I'll show her! Silly little girl, am I? Oh, I'll get her back for this. She couldn't get anything about Harry, so she attacks his friends..."

"You don't want to go upsetting Rita Skeeter," Ron said nervously. "I'm serious, Hermione, she'll dig up something on you –"

"My parents don't read the Daily Prophet. She can't scare me into hiding!" Hermione strode along so fast that it was all Ron and I could do to keep up with her. The last time I had seen Hermione in a rage like this, she had hit Draco Malfoy around the face. "And Hagrid isn't hiding anymore! He should never have let that excuse for a human being upset him! Come on!"

Breaking into a run, she led us all the way back up the road, through the gates flanked by winged boars, and up through the grounds to Hagrid's cabin.

The curtains were still drawn, and we could hear Fang barking as we approached.

"Hagrid!" Hermione shouted, pounding on his front door. "Hagrid, that's enough! We know you're in there! Nobody cares if your mum was a giantess, Hagrid! You can't let that foul Skeeter woman do this to you! Hagrid, get out here, you're just being –"

The door opened. Hermione said, "About t—!" and then stopped, very suddenly, because she had found herself face-to-face, not with Hagrid, but with Albus Dumbledore.

"Good afternoon," he said pleasantly, smiling down at us.

"We—er-we wanted to see Hagrid," Hermione's voice was rather small.

"Yes, I surmised as much," Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling. "Why don't you come in?"

"Oh…um…okay," Hermione said.

She, Ron, and I went into the cabin; Fang launched himself upon me the moment I entered, barking madly and trying to lick my ears. I fended off Fang and looked around.

Hagrid was sitting at his table, where there were two large mugs of tea. He looked a real mess. His face was blotchy, his eyes swollen, and he had gone to the other extreme where his hair was concerned; far from trying to make it behave, it now looked like a wig of tangled wire.

"Hi, Hagrid," I said.

Hagrid looked up. "'Lo," he said in a very hoarse voice.

"More tea, I think," Dumbledore closed the door behind Ron, Hermione and I, and drawing out his wand, and twiddling it; a revolving tea tray appeared in midair along with a plate of cakes. Dumbledore magicked the tray onto the table, and we all sat down. There was a slight pause, and then Dumbledore said, "Did you by any chance hear what Miss Granger was shouting, Hagrid?"

Hermione went slightly pink, but Dumbledore smiled at her and continued, "Hermione, Harry, and Ron still seem to want to know you, judging by the way they were attempting to break down the door."

"Of course we still want to know you!" I exclaimed, staring at Hagrid. "You don't think anything that Skeeter cow – sorry, Professor," I added quickly, looking at Dumbledore.

"I have gone temporarily deaf and haven't any idea what you said. Harry," Dumbledore twiddled his thumbs and stared at the ceiling.

"Er—right," I said sheepishly. "I just meant – Hagrid, how could you think we'd care what that — woman – wrote about you?"

Two fat tears leaked out of Hagrid's beetle-black eyes and fell slowly into his tangled beard.

"Living proof of what I've been telling you, Hagrid," Dumbledore was still looking carefully up at the ceiling. "I have shown you the letters from the countless parents who remember you from their own days here, telling me in no uncertain terms that if I sacked you, they would have something to say about it –"

"Not all of 'em," Hagrid said hoarsely. "Not all of 'em wan me ter stay."

"Really, Hagrid, if you are holding out for universal popularity, I'm afraid you will be in this cabin for a very long time," Dumbledore was now peering sternly over his half-moon spectacles. "Not a week has passed since I became headmaster of this school when I haven't had at least one owl complaining about the way I run it. But what should I do? Barricade myself in my study and refuse to talk to anybody?"

"Yeh – yeh're not half-giant!" Hagrid croaked.

"Hagrid, look what I've got for relatives!" I said furiously. "Look at the Dursleys!"

"An excellent point," said Professor Dumbledore. "My own brother, Aberforth, was prosecuted for practicing inappropriate charms on a goat. It was all over the papers, but did Aberforth hide? No, he did not! He held his head high and went about his business as usual! Of course, I'm not entirely sure he can read, so that may not have been bravery…"

"Come back and teach, Hagrid," Hermione pleaded quietly, "please come back, we really miss you."

Hagrid gulped. More tears leaked out down his cheeks and into his tangled beard.

Dumbledore stood up. "I refuse to accept your resignation, Hagrid, and I expect you back at work on Monday," he said. "You will join me for breakfast at eight-thirty in the Great Hall. No excuses. Good afternoon to you all."

Dumbledore left the cabin, pausing only to scratch Fang's ears. When the door had shut behind him, Hagrid began to sob into his dustbin-lid-sized hands. Hermione kept patting his arm, and at last, Hagrid looked up, his eyes very red indeed, and said, "Great man, Dumbledore…great man…"

"Yeah, he is," said Ron. "Can I have one of these cakes, Hagrid?"

"Help yerself," said Hagrid, wiping his eyes on the back of his hand. "Ar, he's righ', o' course – yeh're all righ'…I bin stupid…my ol' dad woulda bin ashamed o' the way I've bin behavin'…" More tears leaked out, but he wiped them away more forcefully, and said, "Never shown you a picture of my old dad, have I? Here..."

Hagrid got up, went over to his dresser, opened a drawer, and pulled out a picture of a short wizard with Hagrid's crinkled black eyes, beaming as he sat on top of Hagrid's shoulder. Hagrid was a good seven or eight feet tall, judging by the apple tree beside him, but his face was beardless, young, round, and smooth - he looked hardly older than eleven.

"Tha was taken jus' after I got inter Hogwarts," Hagrid croaked. "Dad was dead chuffed… thought I migh' not be a wizard, see, 'cos me mum…well, anyway. 'Course, I never was great shakes at magic, really... but at least he never saw me expelled. Died, see, in me second year…"

"Dumbledore was the one who stuck up for me after Dad went. Got me the gamekeeper job…trusts people, he does. Gives 'em second chances…tha's what sets him apar' from other heads, see. He'll accept anyone at Hogwarts, s'long as they've got the talent. Knows people can turn out okay even if their families weren'…well...all tha' respectable. But some don understand that. There's some who'd always hold it against yeh…there's some who'd even pretend they just had big bones rather than stand up an' say – I am what I am, an' I'm not ashamed. 'Never be ashamed,' my ol' dad used ter say, 'there's some who'll hold it against you, but they're not worth botherin' with.' An' he was right. I've bin an idiot. I'm not botherin' with her no more, I promise yeh that. Big bones…'ll give her big bones."

Ron, Hermione and I looked at one another nervously; I would rather have taken fifty Blast-Ended Skrewts for a walk than admit to Hagrid that I had overheard him talking to Madame Maxime, but Hagrid was still talking, apparently unaware that he had said anything odd.

"Yeh know wha, Harry?" he said, looking up from the photograph of his father, his eyes very bright, "when I firs' met you, you reminded me o' me a bit. Mum an' Dad gone, an' you was feelin' like yeh wouldn' fit in at Hogwarts, remember? Not sure yeh were really up to it...an' now look at yeh, Harry! School champion!"

He looked at me for a moment and then said, very seriously, "Yeh know what I'd love, Harry? I'd love yeh ter win, I really would. It'd show 'em all...yeh don' have ter be pureblood ter do it. Yeh don have ter be ashamed of what yeh are. It'd show 'em Dumbledore's the one who's got it righ', lettin' anyone in as long as they can do magic. How you doin' with that egg, Harry?"

Great," I said. "Really great."

Hagrid's miserable face broke into a wide, watery smile. "Tha's my boy…you show 'em, Harry, you show 'em. Beat 'em all."

Lying to Hagrid wasn't quite like lying to anyone else. I went back to the castle later that afternoon with Ron and Hermione, unable to banish the image of the happy expression on Hagrid's whiskery face as he had imagined me winning the tournament.

* * *

**The 20****th**** chapter is up! This chapter had A LOT of what was from the book, but I hope you don't mind. (It took such a long time to type, so I really hope you don't)**

**Some of you guys have mentioned me focusing on the wizards more than the demigods and I want to talk about that. Well, this fanfic does mostly remain in the Wizarding World, so of course there's going to be more focus on the wizards than if the wizards were to visit Camp Half-Blood. And, as for POVs, Percy and Annabeth are easy to write for me, but I feel like I don't know all of the other demigods well enough to write a chapter in their POV, and I don't want to ruin the characters that we all love. (That's probably a very crappy excuse)**

**The 21****st**** chapter will be out on Thursday! I hope you enjoyed the 20****th**** chapter of the Godly TriWizard Tournament!**


	21. Chapter 21: The Egg and the Eye

Chapter 21: The Egg and the Eye

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and Heroes of Olympus.**

Harry's POV:

I was going up to the Gryffindor common room after dinner with Ron and Hermione when I heard someone calling me.

"Hey – Harry!"

It was Cedric Diggory. He ran down the corridor towards me.

"Yes?" I said.

Cedric looked as though he didn't want to say whatever it was in front of them. Hermione caught the hint and tugged Ron along the corridor.

"Listen…" Cedric lowered his voice as they walked away. "I owe you one for telling me about the dragons. You know that golden egg? Does yours wail when you open it?"

"Yeah, doesn't everyone's?" I replied.

"Probably…well…take a bath, okay? Take a bath, and – er – take it with you, and make sure you're completely underwater, and – er – open the egg."

Of course! I thought. I had to be underwater to hear it. "Thanks a lot, Cedric."

"Tell you what," Cedric added, "use the prefect's bathroom. It's empty right now. Fourth door to the left of the statue of Boris the Bewildered on the fifth floor. Password's 'pine fresh.' Gotta go now. Bye, Harry!" Cedric grinned at me again and hurried back down the corridor.

I went up to the Gryffindor common room. I had no idea how long a bath I would need to work out the secret of the golden egg, so I decided to go now, since it was nighttime and was already empty. But, before I left, I needed to fetch some things out of my trunk.

I planned my excursion carefully as I climbed the stairway, because I didn't want to be caught out of bed by Filch. The Invisibility Cloak would, of course, be essential, and as an added precaution, I thought I would take the Marauder's Map, which, next to the cloak, was the most useful aid to rule-breaking I owned. The map showed the whole of Hogwarts, including its many shortcuts and secret passageways and, most important of all, it revealed the people inside the castle as minuscule, labeled dots, moving around the corridors, so that I would be forewarned if somebody was approaching the bathroom.

Walking into my dormitory, I took my Cloak and the Marauder's Map out of my trunk. I changed out of my robes and into my pajamas. I quickly told Ron, who was playing with Wizarding cards, Cedric and my conversation, and my plan. I bid him goodbye, and walked back down into the common room. At the portrait hole, I waited for it to open, as I did on the night Hagrid had shown me the dragons. Hermione and Ron were already in their dormitories, so I had to wait for anyone who would come in. Eventually, the portrait hole sprung open, and in the doorway was Neville. He slipped as he climbed in, and taking the chance I quickly climbed out of the portrait hole.

It was awkward moving under the cloak tonight, because I had the heavy egg under one arm and the map held in front of my nose with the other. However, the moonlit corridors were empty and silent, and by checking the map at strategic intervals, I was able to ensure that I wouldn't run into anyone I wanted to avoid. When I reached the statue of Boris the Bewildered, a lost-looking wizard with his gloves on the wrong hands, I located the right door, leaned close to it, and muttered the password, "Pine fresh," just as Cedric had told me.

The door creaked open. I slipped inside, bolted the door behind me, and pulled off the Invisibility Cloak, looking around.

My immediate reaction was that it would be worth becoming a prefect just to be able to use this bathroom. It was softly lit by a splendid candle-filled chandelier, and everything was made of white marble, including what looked like an empty, rectangular swimming pool sunk into the middle of the floor. About a hundred golden taps stood all around the pools edges, each with a differently colored jewel set into its handle. There was also a diving board. Long white linen curtains hung at the windows; a large pile of fluffy white towels sat in a corner, and there was a single golden-framed painting on the wall. It featured a blonde mermaid who was fast asleep on a rock, her long hair over her face. It fluttered every time she snored.

I moved forward, looking around, my footsteps echoing off the walls. I put one of the Huffy towels, the cloak, the map, and the egg at the side of the swimming-pool-sized bath, then knelt down and turned on a few of the taps.

I could tell at once that they carried different sorts of bubble bath mixed with the water, though it wasn't bubble bath as I had ever experienced it. One tap gushed pink and blue bubbles the size of footballs; another tap poured ice-white foam so thick that I thought it would have supported my weight if I'd cared to test it; a third sent heavily perfumed purple clouds hovering over the surface of the water. I amused myself for a while turning the taps on and off, particularly enjoying the effect of one whose jet bounced off the surface of the water in large arcs. Then, when the deep pool was full of hot water, foam, and bubbles, which took a very short time considering its size, I turned off all the taps, pulled off my pajamas and slippers, and slid into the water.

It was so deep that my feet barely touched the bottom. But right after I went in, someone spoke.

"Long time no see, Harry."

I swallowed a considerable amount of bubbles in shock. Who was watching me? I stood up, sputtering, and saw the ghost of a very glum-looking girl sitting cross-legged on top of one of the taps. It was Moaning Myrtle, who was usually to be heard sobbing in the S-bend of a toilet three floors below.

"Myrtle!" I said in outrage, "I'm – I'm not wearing anything!"

The foam was so dense that this hardly mattered, but I had a nasty feeling that Myrtle had been spying on me from out of one of the taps ever since I had arrived.

"I closed my eyes until you got in," she said, blinking at him through her thick spectacles. "You haven't been to see me for ages."

"Yeah…well…"I said, bending my knees slightly, just to make absolutely sure Myrtle couldn't see anything but my head, "I'm not supposed to come into your bathroom, am I? It's a girls' one."

"You didn't used to care," Myrtle sounded miserable. I almost felt sorry, but she had been spying on me a few moments ago. "You used to be in there all the time."

This was true, though only Ron, Hermione and I had found Myrtle's out-of-order toilets a convenient place to brew Polyjuice Potion in secret - a forbidden potion that had turned Ron and I into living replicas of Crabbe and Goyle for an hour, so that we could sneak into the Slytherin common room.

"I got told off for going in there." I said, which was half-true; Percy had once caught me coming out of Myrtle's bathroom. "I thought I'd better not come back after that."

"Oh...I see..." Myrtle picked at a spot on her chin in a morose sort of way. "Well...anyway...I'd try the egg in the water. That's what Cedric Diggory did."

"I know that already! And have you been spying on him too?" I said indignantly. "What d'you do, sneak up here in the evenings to watch the prefects take baths?"

"Sometimes," Myrtle replied rather slyly, "but I've never come out to speak to anyone before."

"I'm honored," I said darkly. "You keep your eyes shut!"

I made sure Myrtle had her glasses well covered before hoisting himself out of the bath, wrapping the towel firmly around my waist, and going to retrieve the egg. Once I was back in the water, Myrtle peered through her fingers and said, "Go on, then…open it under the water!"

I lowered the egg beneath the foamy surface and opened it...and this time, it did not wail. A gurgling song was coming out of it, a song whose words I couldn't distinguish through the water.

"You need to put your head under too," said Myrtle, who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying bossing me around. "Go on!"

I glared at Myrtle, took a great breath, and slid under the surface – and now, sitting on the marble bottom of the bubble-filled bath, I heard a chorus of eerie voices singing to me from the open egg in my hands:

"Come seek us where our voices sound, We cannot sing above the ground, And while you're searching, ponder this: We've taken what you'll sorely miss, An hour long you'll have to look, And to recover what we took, But past an hour – the prospect's black, Too late, it's gone, it won't come back."

I let myself float back upward and broke the bubbly surface, shaking my hair out of my eyes.

"Hear it?" said Myrtle.

"Yeah...'Come seek us where our voices sound…' and if I need persuading...hang on, I need to listen again..."

I sank back beneath the water. It took three more underwater renditions of the egg's song before I had it memorized; then I trod water for a while, thinking hard, while Myrtle sat and watched me.

"I've got to go and look for people who can't use their voices above the ground…" I processed slowly. "Er…who could that be?"

"Slow, aren't you?" Moaning Myrtle commented, smiling brightly.

I had never seen Moaning Myrtle so cheerful, apart from the day when a dose of PolyJuice Potion had given Hermione the hairy face and tail of a cat. I stared around the bathroom, thinking...if the voices could only be heard underwater, then it made sense for them to belong to underwater creatures. I ran this theory past Myrtle, who smirked at me.

"Well, that's what Diggory thought," she said. "He lay there talking to himself for ages about it. Ages and ages…nearly all the bubbles had gone…"

"Underwater..." I murmured. "Myrtle…what lives in the lake, apart from the giant squid?"

"Oh all sorts," she informed me. "I sometimes go down there…sometimes don't have any choice, if someone flushes my toilet when I'm not expecting it..."

Trying not to think about Moaning Myrtle zooming down a pipe to the lake with the contents of a toilet, I said, "Well, does anything in there have a human voice? Hang on –" My eyes had fallen on the picture of the snoozing mermaid on the wall. "Myrtle, there aren't _merpeople_ in there, are there?"

"Oooh, very good," she complimented, her thick glasses twinkling, "it took Diggory much longer than that! And that was with her awake too" – Myrtle jerked her head toward the mermaid with an expression of great dislike on her glum face – "giggling and showing off and flashing her fins…"

"Thats it, isn't it?" I said excitedly. "The second tasks to go and find the merpeople in the lake and…and..."

But I suddenly realized what I was saying, and I felt the excitement drain out of me as though someone had just pulled a plug in my stomach. I wasn't a very good swimmer; I'd never had much practice. Dudley had had lessons in his youth, but Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, no doubt hoping that I would drown one day, hadn't bothered to give me any. A couple of lengths of this bath were all very well, but that lake was very large, and very deep…and merpeople would surely live right at the bottom…

"Myrtle," I pondered aloud, "how am I supposed to breathe?"

At this, Myrtle's eyes filled with sudden tears again. "Tactless!" she muttered, groping in her robes for a handkerchief.

Why was she crying suddenly? "What's tactless?" I asked, bewildered.

"Talking about breathing in front of me!" she shrilled, and her voice echoed loudly around the bathroom. "When I can't…when I haven't…not for ages..." She buried her face in her handkerchief and sniffed loudly. I remembered how touchy Myrtle had always been about being dead, but none of the other ghosts I knew made such a fuss about it.

"Sorry," I said impatiently. I really didn't need to deal with this right now. "I didn't mean – I just forgot..."

"Oh yes, very easy to forget Myrtle's dead," Myrtle gulped, looking at me out of swollen eyes. "Nobody missed me even when I was alive. Took them hours and hours to find my body – I know, I was sitting there waiting for them…" Myrtle went on with her story.

But I wasn't listening; I was thinking about the merpeople's song again. "We've taken what you'll sorely miss." That sounded as though they were going to steal something of mine, something I had to get back. What were they going to take?

Moaning Myrtle was still story telling.

"Good," said Harry vaguely. "Well, I'm a lot further on than I was…Shut your eyes again, will you? I'm getting out." I retrieved the egg from the bottom of the bath, climbed out, dried myself, and pulled on my clothes again.

"Will you come and visit me in my bathroom again sometime?" Moaning Myrtle asked mournfully as I picked up the Invisibility Cloak.

"Er…I'll try," I said, though privately thinking the only way I'd be visiting Myrtle's bathroom again was if every other toilet in the castle got blocked. "See you. Myrtle...thanks for your help."

"Bye, 'bye," her voice was filled with gloom, and as I put on the Invisibility Cloak I saw her zoom back up the tap.

Out in the dark corridor, I examined the Marauder's Map to check that the coast was still clear. Yes, the dots belonging to Filch and his cat, Mrs. Norris, were safely in their office…nothing else seemed to be moving apart from Peeves, though he was bouncing around the trophy room on the floor above…I had taken my first step back toward Gryffindor Tower when something else on the map caught my eye…something distinctly odd.

Peeves was not the only thing that was moving. A single dot was flitting around a room in the bottom left-hand corner – Snape's office. But the dot wasn't labeled "Severus Snape"…it was Bartemius Crouch.

I stared at the dot. How could he be here? Mr. Crouch was supposed to be too ill to go to work or to come to the Yule Ball – so what was he doing, sneaking into Hogwarts at one o'clock in the morning? I watched closely as the dot moved around and around the room, pausing here and there…

I hesitated, thinking…and then my curiosity got the better of me. I turned and set off in the opposite direction toward the nearest staircase. I was going to see what Crouch was up to.

I walked down the stairs as quietly as possible, though the faces in some of the portraits still turned curiously at the squeak of a floorboard, the rustle of my pajamas. I crept along the corridor below, pushed aside a tapestry about halfway along, and proceeded down a narrower staircase, a shortcut that would take me down two floors.

I kept glancing down at the map, wondering…It just didn't seem in character, somehow, for correct, law-abiding Mr. Crouch to be sneaking around somebody else's office this late at night...

And then, halfway down the staircase, not thinking about what I was doing, not concentrating on anything but the peculiar behavior of Mr. Crouch, my leg suddenly sank right through the trick step Neville always forgot to jump. Oh no, I thought. I gave an ungainly wobble, and the golden egg, still damp from the bath, slipped from under my arm. I lurched forward to try and catch it, but too late; the egg fell down the long staircase with a bang as loud as a bass drum on every step – the Invisibility Cloak slipped – I snatched at it, and the Marauder's Map fluttered out of my hand and slid down six stairs, where, sunk in the step to above my knee; I couldn't reach it.

The golden egg fell through the tapestry at the bottom of the staircase, burst open, and began wailing loudly in the corridor below. I pulled out my wand and struggled to touch the Marauder's Map, to wipe it blank, but it was too far away to reach – Pulling the cloak back over myself I straightened up, listening hard with my eyes screwed up with fear…and, almost immediately – "PEEVES!"

It was the unmistakable hunting cry of Filch the caretaker. I could hear his rapid, shuffling footsteps coming nearer and nearer, his wheezy voice raised in fury.

"What's this racket? Wake up the whole castle, will you? I'll have you, Peeves, I'll have you, you'll... and what is this?"

Filch's footsteps halted; there was a clink of metal on metal and the wailing stopped – Filch had picked up the egg and closed it. I stood very still, one leg still jammed tightly in the magical step, listening. Any moment now, Filch was going to pull aside the tapestry, expecting to see Peeves…and there would be no Peeves…but if he came up the stairs, he would spot the Marauder's Map…and Invisibility Cloak or not, the map would show "Harry Potter" standing exactly where I was.

"Egg?" Filch said quietly at the foot of the stairs. "My sweet!" – Mrs. Norris was obviously with him – "This is a Triwizard clue! This belongs to a school champion!"

I felt sick; my heart was hammering very fast –

"PEEVES!" Filch roared gleefully. "You've been stealing!"

He ripped back the tapestry below, and I saw his horrible, pouchy face and bulging, pale eyes staring up the dark and (to Filch) deserted staircase.

"Hiding, are you?" he said softly. "I'm coming to get you, Peeves…You've gone and stolen a Triwizard clue, Peeves…Dumbledore'll have you out of here for this, you filthy, pilfering poltergeist…Especially if it's one of those demigods' clue…"

Filch started to climb the stairs, his scrawny, dust-colored cat at his heels. Mrs. Norris' lamp-like eyes, so very like her masters, were fixed directly upon me. I had had no occasion before now to wonder whether the Invisibility Cloak worked on cats…I really hoped not. Sick with apprehension, I watched Filch drawing nearer and nearer in his old flannel dressing gown – I tried desperately to pull my trapped leg free, but it merely sank a few more inches – any second now, Filch was going to spot the map or walk right into me –

"Filch? What's going on?"

Filch stopped a few steps below me and turned. At the foot of the stairs stood the only person who could make my situation worse: Snape. He was wearing a long gray nightshirt and he looked livid.

"It's Peeves, Professor," Filch whispered malevolently. "He threw this egg down the stairs."

Snape climbed up the stairs quickly and stopped beside Filch. I gritted my teeth, convinced my loudly thumping heart would give me away at any second...

"Peeves?" said Snape softly, staring at the egg in Filch's hands. "But Peeves couldn't get into my office…"

"This egg was in your office, Professor?"

"Of course not," Snape snapped. "I heard banging and wailing –

"Yes, Professor, that was the egg –"

"— I was coming to investigate –"

"— Peeves threw it, Professor –"

"— and when I passed my office, I saw that the torches were lit and a cupboard door was ajar! Somebody has been searching it!"

"But Peeves couldn't –"

"I know he couldn't, Filch!" Snape snapped again. "I seal my office with a spell none but a wizard could break!" Snape looked up the stairs, straight through me, and then down into the corridor below. "I want you to come and help me search for the intruder, Filch."

"I – yes, Professor – but –"

Filch looked yearningly up the stairs, right through me. I could see that he was very reluctant to forgo the chance of cornering Peeves. Go, I pleaded with him silently, go with Snape…go…Mrs. Norris was peering around Filch's legs...

I had the distinct impression that she could smell me….Why had I filled that bath with so much perfumed foam?

"The thing is, Professor," Filch said plaintively, "the headmaster will have to listen to me this time. Peeves has been stealing from a student, it might be my chance to get him thrown out of the castle once and for all –"

"Filch, I don't give a damn about that wretched poltergeist; it's my office that's –"

_Clunk. Clunk. Clunk._

Snape stopped talking very abruptly. He and Filch both looked down at the foot of the stairs. I saw Mad-Eye Moody limp into sight through the narrow gap between their heads. Moody was wearing his old traveling cloak over his nightshirt and leaning on his staff as usual.

"Pajama party, is it?" he growled up the stairs.

"Professor Snape and I heard noises, Professor," Filch answered instantly. "Peeves the Poltergeist, throwing things around as usual – and then Professor Snape discovered that someone had broken into his off—"

"Shut up!" Snape hissed to Filch.

Moody took a step closer to the foot of the stairs. I saw Moody's magical eye travel over Snape, and then, unmistakably, onto me.

My heart gave a horrible jolt. Moody could see through Invisibility Cloaks...he alone could see the full strangeness of the scene:

Snape in his nightshirt, Filch clutching the egg, and me trapped in the stairs behind them. Moody's lopsided gash of a mouth opened in surprise. For a few seconds, he and I stared straight into each other's eyes. Then Moody closed his mouth and turned his blue eye upon Snape again.

"Did I hear that correctly, Snape?" he asked slowly. "Someone broke into your office?"

"It is unimportant," Snape's voice was as cold as ice. "On the contrary," growled Moody, "it is very important. Who'd want to break into your office?"

"A student, I daresay," Snape said. I could see a vein flickering horribly on Snape's greasy temple. "It has happened before. Potion ingredients have gone missing from my private store cupboard…students attempting illicit mixtures, no doubt..."

"Reckon they were after potion ingredients, eh?" Moody questioned. "Not hiding anything else in your office, are you?"

I saw the edge of Snape's sallow face turn a nasty brick color, the vein in his temple pulsing more rapidly. "You know I'm hiding nothing, Moody," he said in a soft and dangerous voice, "as you've searched my office pretty thoroughly yourself."

Moody's face twisted into a smile. "Auror's privilege, Snape. Dumbledore told me to keep an eye –"

"Dumbledore happens to trust me," Snape said through clenched teeth. "I refuse to believe that he gave you orders to search my office!"

"Course Dumbledore trusts you," Moody growled. "He's a trusting man, isn't he? Believes in second chances. But me – I say there are spots that don't come off, Snape. Spots that never come off, d'you know what I mean?"

Snape suddenly did something very strange. He seized his left forearm convulsively with his right hand, as though something on it had hurt him.

Moody laughed. "Get back to bed, Snape."

"You don't have the authority to send me anywhere!" Snape hissed, letting go of his arm as though angry with himself. "I have as much right to prowl this school after dark as you do!"

"Prowl away," Moody's voice was full of menace. "I look forward to meeting you in a dark corridor some time...You've dropped something, by the way..."

With a stab of horror, I saw Moody point at the Marauder's Map, still lying on the staircase six steps below me. As Snape and Filch both turned to look at it, I threw caution to the winds; I raised my arms under the cloak and waved furiously at Moody to attract his attention, mouthing, "It's mine! Mine!"

Snape had reached out for it, a horrible expression of dawning comprehension on his face –

"_Accio Parchment_!"

The map flew up into the air, slipped through Snape's outstretched fingers, and soared down the stairs into Moody's hand.

"My mistake," Moody said calmly. "It's mine – must've dropped it earlier –"

But Snape's black eyes were darting from the egg in Filch's arms to the map in Moody's hand, and I could tell he was putting two and two together, as only Snape could...

"Potter," he said quietly.

"What's that?" Moody asked calmly, folding up the map and pocketing it.

"Potter!" Snape snarled, and he actually turned his head and stared right at the place where I was, as though he could suddenly see me. "That egg is Potter's egg. That piece of parchment belongs to Potter. I have seen it before, I recognize it! Potter is here! Potter, in his Invisibility Cloak!"

Snape stretched out his hands like a blind man and began to move up the stairs; I could have sworn his over-large nostrils were dilating, trying to sniff me out – trapped.

I leaned backward, trying to avoid Snape's fingertips, but any moment now—

"There's nothing there, Snape!" barked Moody, "but I'll be happy to tell the headmaster how quickly your mind jumped to Harry Potter!"

"Meaning what?" Snape turned again to look at Moody, his hands still outstretched, inches from my chest.

"Meaning that Dumbledore's very interested to know who's got it in for that boy!" Moody limped nearer still to the foot of the stairs. "And so am I, Snape…very interested..." The torchlight flickered across his mangled face, so that the scars, and the chunk missing from his nose, looked deeper and darker than ever.

Snape was looking down at Moody, and I couldn't see the expression on his face. For a moment, nobody moved or said anything. Then Snape slowly lowered his hands.

"I merely thought," Snape was fighting to keep calm, "that if Potter was wandering around after hours again…it's an unfortunate habit of his…he should be stopped. For – for his own safety."

"Ah, I see," Moody's voice was soft. "Got Potter's best interests at heart, have you?"

There was a pause. Snape and Moody were still staring at each other. Mrs. Norris gave a loud meow, still peering around Filch's legs, looking for the source of my bubble-bath smell.

"I think I will go back to bed," Snape stated curtly.

"Best idea you've had all night," said Moody. "Now, Filch, if you'll just give me that egg—"

"No!" Filch was clutching the egg as though it were his firstborn son. "Professor Moody, this is evidence of Peeves' treachery!"

"It's the property of the champion he stole it from," Moody said. "Hand it over, now."

Snape swept downstairs and passed Moody without another word. Filch made a chirruping noise to Mrs. Norris, who stared blankly at me for a few more seconds before turning and following her master. Still breathing very fast, I heard Snape walking away down the corridor; Filch handed Moody the egg and disappeared from view too, muttering to Mrs. Norris. "Never mind, my sweet…we'll see Dumbledore in the morning…tell him what Peeves was up to..."

A door slammed. I was left staring down at Moody, who placed his staff on the bottommost stair and started to climb laboriously toward him, a dull clunk on every other step.

"Close shave, Potter," he muttered.

"Yeah…I – er ... thanks," I said weakly, my heart slowly returning to its normal rate.

"What is this thing?" Moody questioned, drawing the Marauder's Map out of his pocket and unfolding it.

"Map of Hogwarts," I responded, hoping Moody was going to pull me out of the staircase soon; my leg was really hurting me.

"Merlin's beard," Moody whispered, staring at the map, his magical eye going haywire. "This…this is some map, Potter!"

"Yeah, it's…quite useful," My eyes were starting to water from the pain. "Er – Professor Moody, d'you think you could help me – ?"

"What? Oh! Yes…yes, of course…"

Moody took hold of my arms and pulled; my leg came free of the trick step, and I climbed onto the one above it. Moody was still gazing at the map.

"Potter..." he said slowly, "you didn't happen, by any chance, to see who broke into Snape's office, did you? On this map, I mean?"

"Er…yeah, I did…" I admitted. "It was Mr. Crouch."

Moody's magical eye whizzed over the entire surface of the map. He looked suddenly alarmed.

"Crouch?" he said. "You're – you're sure, Potter?"

"Positive," I affirmed.

"Well, he's not here anymore," said Moody, his eye still whizzing over the map. "Crouch...that's very – very interesting... "

He said nothing for almost a minute, still staring at the map. I could tell that this news meant something to Moody and very much wanted to know what it was. I wondered whether I dared ask. Moody scared me slightly…yet Moody had just helped me avoid an awful lot of trouble…

"Er...Professor Moody…why d'you reckon Mr. Crouch wanted to look around Snape's office?"

Moody's magical eye left the map and fixed, quivering, upon me. It was a penetrating glare, and I had the impression that Moody was sizing me up, wondering whether to answer or not, or how much to tell me.

"Put it this way. Potter," Moody muttered finally, "they say old Mad-Eye's obsessed with catching Dark wizards…but I'm nothing – nothing – compared to Barty Crouch."

He continued to stare at the map. I was burning to know more.

"Professor Moody?" he said again. "D'you think...could this have anything to do with…maybe Mr. Crouch thinks there's something going on..."

"Like what?" Moody said sharply.

I wondered how much I dare say. I didn't want Moody to guess that I had a source of information outside Hogwarts; that might lead to tricky questions about Sirius.

"I don't know," I muttered, "odd stuffs been happening lately, hasn't it? It's been in the Daily Prophet... the Dark Mark at the World Cup, and the Death Eaters and everything...demigods participating in the tournament for the first time, for no _real, _known reason…"

Both of Moody's mismatched eyes widened.

"You're a sharp boy, Potter," he praised. His magical eye roved back to the Marauder's Map.

"Crouch could be thinking along those lines," he said slowly. "Very possible…there have been some funny rumors flying around lately – helped along by Rita Skeeter, of course. It's making a lot of people nervous, I reckon." A grim smile twisted his lopsided mouth. "Oh if there's one thing I hate," he muttered, more to himself than to me, and his magical eye was fixed on the left-hand corner of the map, "it's a Death Eater who walked free..."

I stared at him. Could Moody possibly mean what I thought he meant?

"And now I want to ask you a question. Potter," said Moody in a more businesslike tone.

My heart sank; I had thought this was coming. Moody was going to ask where I had gotten this map, which was a very dubious magical object – and the story of how it had fallen into my hands incriminated not only me, but my own father, Fred and George Weasley, and Professor Lupin, our last Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Moody waved the map in front of me, and I braced myself –

"Can I borrow this?"

"Oh!" I was definitely surprised. I was very fond of his map, but on the other hand, I was extremely relieved that Moody wasn't asking where I'd got it, and there was no doubt that I owed Moody a favor. "Yeah, okay."

"Good boy," growled Moody. "I can make good use of this…this might be exactly what I've been looking for…Right, bed, Potter, come on, now..."

We climbed to the top of the stairs together, Moody still examining the map as though it was a treasure the like of which he had never seen before. We walked in silence to the door of Moody's office, where he stopped and looked up at me. "You ever thought of a career as an Auror, Potter?"

"No," I answered, taken aback.

"You should consider it," Moody said, nodding and looking at me thoughtfully. "Yes, indeed...and incidentally...I'm guessing you weren't just taking that egg for a walk tonight?"

"Er – no," I grinned. "I've been working out the clue."

Moody winked at me, his magical eye going haywire again. "Nothing like a nighttime stroll to give you ideas, Potter...See you in the morning..."

He went back into his office, staring down at the Marauder's Map again, and closed the door behind him.

I walked slowly back to Gryffindor Tower, lost in thought about Snape, and Crouch, and what it all meant...Why was Crouch pretending to be ill, if he could manage to get to Hogwarts when he wanted to? What did he think Snape was concealing in his office?

And Moody thought I ought to be an Auror! Interesting idea… but somehow, I thought, as I got quietly into my four-poster ten minutes later, the egg and the cloak now safely back in my trunk, I thought I'd like to check how scarred the rest of them were before I chose it as a career.

* * *

**The 21st chapter is done! These chapters are getting so long, oh my gosh!**

**The 22nd chapter will be the Second Task in Percy's POV! It may or may not be up on Saturday, so fingers crossed that I can! I hope you enjoyed the 21st chapter of the Godly TriWizard Tournament!**


	22. Chapter 22: The Second Task Part 1

Chapter 22: The Second Task Part One

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and Heroes of Olympus.**

Percy's POV:

There wasn't much for us to do at Hogwarts, other than spending time with each other, or training. Since we'd bailed classes with the witches and wizards, we had a lot of free time. I almost regretted it, but I didn't, because I really didn't like to learn, seeing my ADHD and dyslexia went crazy whenever I was in a classroom. I probably should have gotten ready for the Second Task, because I had so much free time, but the task was way too easy. Survive underwater. Easy peasy. Recover something the merpeople took. Okay. One hour (time limit) to rescue something I'd surely miss from merpeople. That wouldn't be too hard, since Poseidon, god of the sea, is my dad. They probably didn't want to anger him, since he _is_ their ruler. What they would take, I didn't know. That would be the only problem. But, I felt bad that I had such a huge advantage over everyone else. How could a Son of Poseidon lose in an underwater challenge? It was a win in the bag. I felt really guilty when I saw Harry struggling. He, Ron and Hermione were spending hours every day in the library, searching for a way for him to breathe underwater. I offered to send an air bubble his way in the lake, but he refused, his reason being, 'I won't be able to repay the favor.' I argued that he didn't have to do anything, but he was stubborn.

So, I spent the time between Christmas and the Second Task at Hogwarts training, sleeping (I didn't fight _that _much, but the Curse of Achilles made me so tired), making out with Annabeth (although we were usually interrupted, usually by the Stolls), swimming in the Black Lake (it was a pretty cool place to explore; the giant squid was really nice, but he kept calling me lord), and everything else I could do at a Wizarding School in Scotland.

After what seemed like forever, the day before the Second Task came. To our surprise, (especially Reyna's), Hylla came to Hogwarts to cheer her on. Although Reyna rarely showed her feelings, I could tell that she was really happy to have her sister here. The day passed by quickly, unlike the days before. When I'd eaten breakfast with everyone else, and then left to train (Hylla was a really good fighter, I learned, but then, she _was _a daughter of Bellona), it seemed like only half an hour had passed before we headed down for lunch. When lunch was finished, I had a short nap (surprisingly) and swam in the Black Lake again, and had a long chat with the giant squid about what was going on in the mythology world. He didn't know too much, since 'the gods move with the heart of the West,' and Scotland wasn't exactly the West, but he did know some stuff. We talked for a few hours, to my astonishment, and it was starting to get dark. I walked back into the castle for dinner, and followed our usual routine: plate up food, sacrifice the best portions to the gods (Ron was still pretty upset at that part, and Reyna was still strangely sacrificing and praying to Poseidon/Neptune and Bellona), and the best part, eat! Harry, Ron and Hermione rushed through dinner, telling us that they were going to search through the library for the last time (they were still unsuccessful). I really hoped that they would find _something _that would help Harry breathe underwater tonight. With full stomachs, us demigods, headed upstairs, played a few rounds of Truth or Dare (we were bored, and Piper suggested it). Halfway through the game, Luna arrived at our dorm, saying that she was supposed to bring Annabeth and Hylla to Professor McGonagall's office, and they left the dorm with Luna. When it got late, we ended the game and went into our rooms. Annabeth and Hylla hadn't returned yet, but I wasn't too worried. They were good fighters; they could fend for themselves. Anyways, Professor McGonagall wouldn't and couldn't do anything to hurt us. I let go of these thoughts, laid down on my messy bed, and entered Hypnos' realm.

I woke up to Jason shaking me roughly the next morning. I opened one eye and peered at him, "Dude, I was trying to sleep."

"Do you want Thalia to kill me for not waking you up?" Jason questioned.

"She wouldn't slay her own brother." I yawned. "Anyways, if she did, at least I wouldn't have to waste any energy killing you myself."

"I would kill _you _before you would kill _me_,"

"Sure you would," I said sarcastically. "I'm going back to sleep, if you don't mind…" I pulled my blankets over my head. I heard Jason walk out of my room, and a minute later, returned. Pulling back my blankets from my face, I saw Thalia frowning at me.

"Kelp Head. Wake up! You only have" – she glanced at the alarm clock on my bedside table – "forty-five minutes before the task! And we haven't even eaten yet!"

"But…" I trailed off. She glared at me and threatened to zap me with the highest voltage that she had. I shivered, and replied, "Okay…" I threw my blanket off of me and climbed out of bed. Thalia wore a triumphant grin.

We finally left my room. All the others were all already awake, and apparently had been waiting for a long time for me to wake up. Nico told me, "Good thing you woke up, Percy. I was about to summon Mrs. O'Leary into your room." Hearing her name, I realized how much as I missed her. But, Mrs. O'Leary was definitely too big for my room. She would destroy everything in it. I would have to wait for summer to see her, and everyone else, again.

Together, we all went down for breakfast. Annabeth, Hylla, and the Golden Trio were all not at dinner. Now, I was starting to get worried. Why weren't they here? Had Harry found something to help him breathe underwater? I ate my breakfast uneasily. I still didn't know what they had taken from me that I would surely miss.

At nine, Professor McGonagall told Reyna and I to head down to the lake, and when she walked away, I could hear her muttering about where Harry could possibly be. We said goodbye to our friends, and walked outside the castle and towards the Black Lake.

"You've got everything all figured out, Reyna?" I asked.

"Thanks to this. I'm glad I brought it with me." Reyna took a necklace out of the pocket of her jeans. I didn't recognize it. It was silver, and had blue wave pendants. "This necklace is the only thing I have left from our old home. It was a gift from Circe. When we were little, we loved to swim. I've grown out of it, because of…" She paused, but I knew what she meant. Romans weren't fans of Poseidon/Neptune, and usually kept out of his realm. "But, when we were little, Hylla and I weren't skilled at it the breathing part of swimming. So, Circe enchanted matching necklaces for us to wear, and the wearer is able to breathe underwater."

"Doesn't it rust?" I wondered.

She sent me a look. "I don't wear it that much for it to rust. Silver takes a while to tarnish."

As we walked towards the lake, we could see that the seats that had surrounded the dragons' and drakons' enclosure were now along the bank of the lake, rising in stands that reflected in the Black Lake below. There wasn't anyone sitting in them yet, but they would be packed soon. The judges were sitting at a gold-draped table at the water's edge. Everyone was here, except Harry. Bagman was looking particularly worried, and he was muttering into his hands, "Where could he_ be_? I can't lose to them. I don't have enough Galleons." I had no idea what he meant, but it was definitely weird. I looked at Reyna, who'd also heard. But, like me, she had no idea about what he had just mumbled.

As minutes passed, the stands filled and filled. Cheers were ringing in the air. Five minutes before the start of the Second Task, Harry appeared, sprinting towards us.

"I'm…here," Harry panted, skidding to a halt in the mud and accidentally splattering Fleur's robes. She looked at him disgustedly, and cleaned the mud off with a swish her wand.

"Where have you been?" The man Harry had been talking to at the ball said. "The task's about to start!"

"Now, now, Percy!" Percy? I looked at him, confused. "Weasley." He stated. Oh, his name was Percy too. "Let him catch his breath!"

Dumbledore and Chiron smiled at Harry, but Karkaroff and Madame Maxime didn't look happy to see Harry…they'd probably been hoping for Harry to not show up.

Ludo Bagman began moving among us champions, spacing us along the bank with ten feet between each of us. I was third in line, between Cedric and Reyna, who was putting on her necklace. Bagman paused at Harry, who was last, moved him slightly from Krum, who was second to last, and whispered something to him. Then, he gave Harry a quick squeeze on the shoulder and returned to the judges' table. He pointed his wand at his throat, said something like "Sonors!" and his voice boomed across the dark water toward the stands.

"Well, all our champions are ready for the second task, which will start on my whistle. They have precisely an hour to recover what has been taken from them. On the count of three, then. One…two…_three!_"

The whistle echoed shrilly in the cold, still air; the stands erupted with cheers and applause; and I jumped into the Black Lake.

* * *

**The 22nd chapter is here! Sadly, I was only able to type half of the chapter, and it's the shortest in the while. But that's better than nothing, right? This half chapter was pretty fun to write too :D**

**The 23rd chapter will be up on Monday (I think/hope). I hope you enjoyed the 22nd chapter of the Godly TriWizard Tournament! (Even though it was only one half of the Second Task.)**


	23. Chapter 23: The Second Task Part 2

Chapter 23: The Second Task Part 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and Heroes of Olympus.**

Percy's POV:

I could hear the laughter in the crowd and knew I must look stupid, jumping into the lake without showing any sign of magical power. But, it didn't bother me. Anyways, I heard a clap of thunder, and the laughing stopped. I laughed in my head. It was probably thanks to Thalia, Jason, or both. Even though sometimes they could be really annoying, they were still my friends.

I swam through the lake as fast as I could. Thanks to my visits, I practically had the place memorized. Forests of rippling, tangled black weed, wide plains of mud littered with dull, glimmering stones. I swam deeper and deeper, out toward the middle of the lake. Small fish flickered past me like silver darts. I saw the giant squid was in an underwater cave on the left of me, and when he saw me, he began to swim towards me.

_My lord. They have taken the one you have told me about. Your 'Wise Girl'. _

I couldn't believe it. _What?! They took Annabeth? How could they put her underwater? Don't they know Athena and Poseidon are sworn enemies?!_

_Well, I'm sure they asked her if she was fine with it, my lord. She, and the others, are in the village square._

_Still…_ I couldn't get rid of my worry, though. I needed to hurry, bring her to the surface, check if she was alright, and maybe kill whoever took her… _Thanks for the info._

_It is my honor, my lord._ The giant squid returned to his cave.

I continued through the lake, swimming quicker than before. Light green weed stretched ahead of me as far as I could see, two feet deep, like a meadow of very overgrown grass. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a pack of grindylows lurking in the weeds. They seemed to be waiting for a chance to ambush me, but they didn't try to attack me, of course. I kept on swimming. The village square was a bit far from here, I knew. Currently, I was in the deeper part of the lake, because nothing was moving, excluding the rippling weed.

I swam on, as quickly as I could, for at least ten minutes. When I'd swum to the village for the first time (casually) I took at least twenty minutes. I didn't have that kind of time; I needed to make sure Annabeth was okay. I was passing over vast expanses of black mud now, which swirled murkily as I disturbed the water. Then, at long last, I heard a bit of the mersong.

_"An hour long you'll have to look,_

_And to recover what we took…"_

I swam faster and passed the large rock that depicted the merpeople of the lake carrying spears and chasing the giant squid. I didn't really like this painting. The giant squid was really nice, and the merpeople weren't exactly kind, unlike the merpeople back at home…here, they were only nice to me out of fear of angering Poseidon. I could tell from the look in their eyes when I talked to them.

_"…your time's third gone, so tarry not_

_Lest what you seek stays here to rot…"_

A cluster of crude stone dwellings stained with algae loomed suddenly out of the gloom on all sides. I finally arrived at the village. Here and there at the dark windows, I saw the merpeople.

This wasn't the first time I saw them, but I was still surprised of their appearance. They looked nothing like the merpeople back home. These merpeople had grayish skin and long, wild, dark green hair. Their eyes were yellow, as were their broken teeth, and they wore thick ropes of pebbles around their necks. They watched me wearily as I swam past; one or two mermen emerged from their caves to watch me better, with their spears clutched in their hands.

I sped on through the village toward the square. I turned a corner, and the village square was right ahead of me. A whole crowd of merpeople was floating in front of the houses that lined it. A choir of merpeople were singing in the middle, calling us champions toward them, and behind them was a crude statue of Poseidon in merman form, hewn from a boulder. Six people were tied tightly to the tail of my stone father.

Wise Girl, I thought. She was tied between Hylla and Cedric's date from the ball. Next to her was Ron, Hermione, and a young girl with silvery curls, making me sure that she was Fleur's sister. All six of them seemed to be in a very deep sleep. Their heads were on their shoulders, and fine streams of bubbles kept emerging from their mouths. I sped toward Wise Girl. The ropes of weed tying her and everyone else to the statue were thick, slimy, and very strong. For a fleeting second I thought of Riptide – but these ropes weren't monsters. Riptide wouldn't be able to cut through them. (**I know that technically Riptide can, but that would make things even easier for Percy**)

I looked around me. Many of the merpeople surrounding the statue were carrying sharp spears. I swam swiftly toward a merman, who was seven feet tall with a long green beard and a choker of shark fangs, and asked him if I could borrow his spear. He shook his head, but he seemed unsure.

_We do not help. _I felt a wave of anger. I sent him a very angry look, uncapped Riptide, and swung it towards him as a warning. He flinched, and handed his spear over to me uneasily.

Grasping the spear in my hand, I swam back towards Wise Girl, and began hacking at the ropes, making sure I didn't hit her. After a few minutes of work, the ropes binding Annabeth to the statue floated down to the ground, and, still unconscious, she drifted a few inches above the lake bottom.

I saw someone swimming towards me. It was Harry! He'd grown gills, and his hands and feet were webbed. He tried to speak; bubbles coming out of his mouth. But, I still understood him.

"Hi, Percy. Have you seen anyone else? What're they playing at? Why don't they hurry up? They'll die if they won't come and save them!" Die? He must be joking. The hour was only a time limit. Or at least, that's what Annabeth said when I told her the mersong. Harry began to look for a way to free Ron. I returned the spear to the merman, grabbed Annabeth by the waist, bid Harry goodbye, and kicked off from the bottom of the lake.

When I felt my head break the surface of the lake, I swam to the bank, where the judges were watching. I got out, dry, and laid Annabeth, who was also dry, on the ground with her head in my lap. Immediately, she woke up, turned to me and said, "Thank the gods, Percy. I wasn't sure if Poseidon was okay with me being underwater."

"Yeah, about that…" I looked up at Dumbledore angrily.

"Percy, calm down. I'm fine now. You don't _need_ to hurt _anybody._ So stop looking at Professor Dumbledore like that." Annabeth commanded. Obeying, I quit glaring at Dumbledore.

We waited for the others to finish the race. The only person who had come up far was Fleur, but she hadn't succeeded; she was attacked by a pack of grindylows, and couldn't finish the race. I could see Piper grinning triumphantly in the massive crowd when Fleur climbed up, shaking, onto the bank. After waiting a few minutes, Cedric appeared in the lake, along with the person he would miss most. Madam Pomfrey, who had been standing by the judges, rushed over to them holding thick blankets, but I got to them before her. With two touches, I dried the both of them. Cedric and I didn't really know each other, but he sent me a grateful look. The two of them sat down a little ways from us, also watching the lake. Soon after, Reyna and Hylla, followed by Krum and Hermione, burst through the surface of the lake. I dried them too (Madam Pomfrey was looking outraged that I had somehow taken her job), and they also sat down in the grass surrounding the lake.

The only person who was left in the lake was Harry. What could be taking him so long? He'd been second to the statue of my father. I suddenly remembered something, "They can't let them all die." He was down there in the lake, trying to save _all _of his friends. Now, I knew my fatal flaw was loyalty, but Harry was showing some true Hufflepuff colors. Even I didn't think of saving everyone…I was only thinking of Annabeth.

Bagman announced, "Harry has only one minute to finish the task!" His face had returned to his look of worry from before the task. Why did he need Harry to win so _badly_?

As if on cue, Harry broke through the surface of the lake. He was gasping for air, and panting, he pulled Ron and the little girl from earlier up with him. All around him, merpeople emerging out of the water with him, but they were smiling at him.

The crowd in the stands was shouting and screaming, all on their feet. They seemed to have all though Ron and the young girl were dead, but both of their eyes were open. Bickering, Harry and Ron pulled the girl through the water towards us, twenty merpeople accompanying them like a guard of honor, singing the mersong. When I looked at him, I saw that Ludo Bagman was no longer distressed, and he was now beaming at Harry and Ron while they swam nearer. But Percy Weasley, he looked very pale and younger than usual, came splashing out to meet them. Madame Maxime was trying to restrain Fleur, who was quite hysterical, fighting tooth and nail to return to the water. "Gabrielle! _Gabrielle! Is she alive? Is she 'urt?"_

Harry seemed to be trying to answer, but no sound came out of his mouth. Percy Weasley seized Ron and was dragging him to the bank, ignoring Ron's pleas; Dumbledore and Bagman were pulling Harry upright; Fleur had broken free of Madame Maxime and was hugging her sister. "It was ze grindylows…zey attacked me…oh Gabrielle, I thought…I thought…" Slowly, I got up, and dried off Fleur's sister. She looked like she was freezing. Fleur both gave me a grateful look, and then returned to embracing her sister when I walked away.

"Come here, you," Madam Pomfrey. She seized Harry before I could dry him off, and pulled him over to Hermione and the others, wrapped him tightly in a blanket, and forced a spoonful of very hot potion down his throat. In case he was still wet, I walked over to him, dried him off, and walked back over to Annabeth.

Dumbledore was crouching at the edge of the water, deep in conversation with the chief of the merpeople, a very wild and ferocious-looking female. They were talking about how Harry had been second to the statue, and had been trying his best to save _all _of his friends. Finally, he straightened up, turned to his fellow judges, and said, "A conference before we give the marks, I think."

The judges went into a huddle. After a five minute meeting, Ludo Bagman's magically magnified voice boomed out beside us, making us all jump, and causing the crowd in the stands to go quiet.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached our decision. Merchieftainess Murcus has told us exactly what happened at the bottom of the lake, and we have therefore decided to award marks out of fifty for each of the champions, as follows…

"Fleur Delcour, though she demonstrated excellent use of the Bubble-Head Charm, was attacked by grindylows as she approached her goal, and failed to retrieve her hostage. We award her twenty-five points." Fleur didn't seem to think she deserved any points.

"Percy Jackson, who put his hydrokinesis abilities to the test, was first to return his hostage." Enormous cheers erupted from the demigods in the crowd, and Annabeth kissed my cheek. "Because he threatened a merman with his sword," Some of the judges gave me a look, and I feigned a look of innocence, "we therefore award him forty-five points." (**The chief also mentioned to Dumbledore that Percy threatened to vaporize the merman with the spear, and I imagine that they wouldn't have been too happy about that**)

"Cedric Diggory, who also used the Bubble-Head Charm, was the second to return with his hostage, though he returned five minutes outside the time limit of an hour." The Hufflepuff house went crazy with screams, and Cedric's hostage gave him a glowing look. Harry looked disappointed. "We therefore reward him forty-four points."

"Reyna Avilla Ramirez Arellano, who wore an enchanted necklace from the sorceress Medea, was third to return her hostage. We award her fourty-two points." The Romans cheered for Reyna enthusiastically.

"Viktor Krum used an incomplete form of Transfiguration, which was nevertheless effective, and was fourth to return with his hostage. We award him forty points." Karkaroff clapped particularly hard, looking very superior.

"Harry Potter used gillyweed to great effect," Bagman continued. "He returned last, and well outside the limit of an hour. However, the Merchieftainess informs us that Mr. Potter was second to reach the hostages, and that the delay in his return was due to his determination to return all the hostages to safety, not merely his own." Hermione and Ron gave Harry exasperated looks.

"Most of the judges," and here, Bagman gave Karkaroff a very angry look, "feel that this shows moral fiber and merits full marks. However…we award Harry Potter forty-seven points."

Harry and I were now tied. We both had 95 points. I clapped extra hard for Harry. The Golden Trio all looked surprised, realizing the same thing. Then, they all laughed, and joined the crowd in applause.

"The third and final task will take place at dusk on the twenty-fourth of June," Bagman announced. "The champions will be notified of what is coming precisely one month beforehand. Thank you all for your support of the champions."

It was over, I thought, as I walked back up to the castle with everyone else. I didn't have to worry about anything (hopefully) until the Third Task.

* * *

**I AM SO SORRY FOR NOT PUTTING UP THIS CHAPTER YESTERDAY. I HOPE YOU ALL AREN'T MADDDDDDD! But, here it is, the second half of the Second Task. I definitely would have given Percy more than 45 points, but I needed to have Percy and Harry tied for the Third Task.**

**The 24****th**** chapter will be out Next week on Tuesday. I know it's SO far away, but…I've been losing inspiration for this fanfic. Even when I'm writing about the task, which is my ****_favorite _****part, I get bored and put it off. Which is partly why I wasn't able to upload yesterday's chapter (the other half was my mom needed to use my laptop and she wouldn't return it ._.) So, I'm going to take a two day break from writing, think up of ****_something _****to write about in between tasks (if you guys have ANY ideas, please suggest them to me. That would be great!) I hope you enjoyed the 23****rd**** chapter of the Godly TriWizard Tournament!**


	24. Chapter 24: Mr Crouch is Crazy

Chapter 24: Mr. Crouch is Crazy

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, or the Heroes of Olympus.**

Percy's POV:

I really shouldn't have said that I hopefully wouldn't have to worry about anything until the Third Task. Even though two months have already passed without needing to, I was losing my good luck.

Like Bagman said he would, at nine pm on the twenty-fourth of May, all of us champions went down to the Quidditch field, where he talked to us about the Third Task.

The field was filled with long, low hedges that twisted and crisscrossed in every direction. I'm guessing that they'd just started growing them this year. When we all arrived, Bagman began to speak.

"Well, what d'you think?" Bagman said happily as Harry and Cedric climbed over the last hedge. "Growing nicely, aren't they? Give them a month and Hagrid'll have them twenty-feet high." If he just asked Katie, I thought, she'd have them that tall in a second. Plants went crazy when she was around. "Don't worry, you'll have your Quidditch field back to normal once the task is over! Now, I imagine you can guess what we're making here?"

No one spoke for a moment. Then –

"A maze." Krum and Reyna said.

"That's right!" Bagman exclaimed. "A maze. The third task's really very straightforward. The TriWizard cup will be placed in the center of the maze. The first champion to touch it will receive full marks."

"We seemply 'ave to get through the maze?" Fleur asked.

"There will be obstacles. Hagrid is providing a number of creatures…then there will be spells to be broken – but you two," Bagman looked at me and Reyna, "will be able to just walk through them —all that sort of thing, you know. Now, the champions who are leading on points will get a head start into the maze." Bagman grinned at me and Harry. "Then Mr. Diggory and Miss Reyna will enter…then Mr. Krum…lastly, Miss Delacour. But you'll all be in with a fighting chance, depending on how well you get past the obstacles. Should be fun, eh?"

This task seemed simple enough. Kill monsters, walk through spells, touch the cup…I smiled at Bagman, while everyone else nodded politely.

"Very well…if you haven't got any questions, we'll go back up to the castle, shall we, it's a bit chilly…" Bagman hurried alongside Harry as we began to make our way out of the growing maze. He seemed to want to talk with Harry, but Krum tapped his shoulder.

"Could I haff a vord?" Harry looked surprised. "Yeah, all right." "Vill you valk with me?" "Okay."

Bagman looked slightly annoyed. "I'll wait for you, Harry, shall I?" Harry declined the invitation. Together, Harry and Krum left the stadium, and headed toward the forest.

I quickly whispered to Reyna, "Go on without me." She saw me watching Harry and Krum, and agreed. Although Krum seemed okay, Karkaroff seemed shady, and, I was thinking about our quest, the whole reason why we were here. Protect Harry Potter. So, with that thought, I followed Harry and Krum.

"What're we going this way for?" Harry said as they passed Hagrid's cabin and the illuminated Beauxbatons carriage.

"Don't vont to be overheard," Krum replied. Oops, I thought. Too late.

When we finally reached a quiet stretch of ground a short way from the Beauxbatons horses' paddock (they started neighing loudly when I got near, until I shushed them, and hid behind them), Krum stopped in the shade of the trees and turned to face Harry.

"I vant to know," he glared at Harry, "vot there is between you and Herm-own-ninny." I instantly felt like an intruder.

"Nothing," Krum kept glaring. "We're friends. She's not my girlfriend and she never has been. It's just that Skeeter woman making things up."

"Herm-own-ninny talks about you very often," Krum looked at Harry suspiciously, which felt weird, because he probably should've been looking at me that way.

"Yeah," Harry said, "because we're _friends_."

"You haff never…you haff not…" Firmly, Harry said, "No."

Krum looked slightly happier. He stared at Harry for a few seconds, then said, "You fly very vell. I vos watching at the first task."

"Thanks," Harry said, grinning broadly. "I saw you at the Quidditch World Cup. The Wronski Feint, you really –"

I was about to leave, since their conversation seemed to be over, when something moved behind Krum in the trees. Instinctively, I put my hand over my pocket holding Riptide, and Harry grabbed Krum's arm and pulled him around.

"Vot is it?"

Harry shook his head, staring at the place where we'd both seen movement. He slipped his hands inside his robes, reaching for his wand.

Suddenly a man staggered out from behind a tall oak. It was Mr. Crouch, who looked like he'd been traveling for days.

"Vosn't he a judge?" Krum stared at Mr. Crouch. "isn't he vith your Ministry?"

Harry nodded, hesitated for a moment, then walked slowly toward Mr. Crouch, who did not look at him, but continued to talk to a nearby tree.

"... and when you've done that, Weatherby, send an owl to Dumbledore confirming the number of Durmstrang students who will be attending the tournament, Karkaroff has just sent word there will be twelve…"

"Mr. Crouch?" Harry said cautiously.

"...and then send another owl to Madame Maxime and the centaur Chiron, because they might want to up the number of students they're bringing, now Karkaroff's made it a round dozen...do that, Weatherby, will you? Will you? Will..."

Mr. Crouch's eyes were bulging. He stood staring at the tree, muttering soundlessly at it. Then he staggered sideways and fell to his knees. I moved closer to them.

"Mr. Crouch?" Harry yelled. "Are you all right?"

Crouch's eyes were rolling in his head. Harry looked around at Krum, who had followed him into the trees, and was looking down at Crouch in alarm.

"Vot is wrong with him?"

"No idea," Harry muttered. "Listen, you'd better go and get someone –"

"Dumbledore!" gasped Mr. Crouch. He reached out and seized a handful of Harry's robes, dragging him closer, though his eyes were staring over Harry's head. "I need...see...Dumbledore..."

"Okay," said Harry, "if you get up, Mr. Crouch, we can go up to the –"

"I've done…stupid…thing…" Mr. Crouch breathed. He looked crazy. His eyes were rolling and bulging, and a trickle of spit was sliding down his chin. Every word he spoke seemed to cost him a terrible effort. "Must…tell…Dumbledore…"

"Get up, Mr. Crouch," Harry said loudly and clearly. "Get up, I'll take you to Dumbledore!"

Mr. Crouch's eyes rolled forward onto Harry. "Who…you?" he whispered.

"I'm a student at the school," Harry looked at Krum for some help, but Krum was hanging back, looking extremely nervous.

"You're not...his?" Crouch whispered, his mouth sagging.

"No," Harry said, although he didn't seem to know what Crouch was talking about.

"Dumbledore's?" Harry nodded. Crouch was pulling him closer; Harry tried to loosen Crouch's grip on his robes, but he failed. "Warn…Dumbledore ..."

"I'll get Dumbledore if you let go of me," said Harry. "Just let go, Mr. Crouch, and I'll get him…"

"Thank you, Weatherby, and when you have done that, I would like a cup of tea. My wife and son will be arriving shortly, we are attending a concert tonight with Mr. and Mrs. Fudge."

Crouch was now talking fluently to a tree again, and seemed completely unaware that Harry was there, which surprised Harry so much he didn't notice that Crouch had released him.

"Yes, my son has recently gained twelve O.W.L.S, most satisfactory, yes, thank you, yes, very proud indeed. Now, if you could bring me that memo from the Andorran Minister of Magic, I think I will have time to draft a response..."

"You stay here with him!" Harry said to Krum. "I'll get Dumbledore, I'll be quicker, I know where his office is –"

"He is mad," Krum argued doubtfully, staring down at Crouch, who was still gabbling to the tree, apparently convinced it was his assistant.

"Just stay with him," Harry started to get up, but his movement seemed to trigger another abrupt change in Mr. Crouch, who seized him hard around the knees and pulled Harry back to the ground.

"Don't…leave…me!" he whispered, his eyes bulging again. "I...escaped…must warn…must tell...see Dumbledore…my fault...all my fault…Bertha…dead…all my fault…my son…my fault...tell Dumbledore ... Harry Potter ...the Dark Lord…stronger…Harry Potter..." I knew that The Dark Lord was another name for Voldemort. How could he know that he was stronger? And why was everything his fault?

"I'll get Dumbledore if you let me go, Mr. Crouch!" said Harry. He looked furiously around at Krum. "Help me, will you?"

Looking extremely apprehensive, Krum moved forward and squatted down next to Mr. Crouch.

"Just keep him here," Harry, pulling himself free of Mr. Crouch. "I'll be back with Dumbledore."

"Hurry, von't you?" Krum called after him as Harry sprinted away from the forest and up through the dark grounds.

I tried to walk to them quietly, trying not to somehow change Mr. Crouch's personality, when a stick snapped under my shoe. Mr. Crouch yelled, brandishing his wand, done talking to the tree next to him, "_Stupefy!_" Krum fell to the ground.

I ran up to them, no longer worried about scaring them. Mr. Crouch, seeing me, grabbed me, as he did with Harry. His grip was really strong. He began to say, "Dumbledore…see Dumbledore…tell Dumbledore…the Dark Lord…stronger…Harry Potter…not safe…my fault…son…evil…after Harry Potter…all my fault!" Crouch finished in an anguished cry. He released me, and I fell to the ground, and he ran into the forest. I was about to run after him when Harry appeared with Dumbledore.

"Percy? Why are you here? Where's Viktor and Mr. Crouch?" Harry asked.

"I followed you because…" I looked at Dumbledore, and he seemed to understand. "Krum got Stunned by Crouch. And after he grabbed me and yelled in my ears, he ran into the forest."

Dumbledore bent over Krum's body. "Should I go and get someone?" Harry asked. "Madam Pomfrey?"

"No," Dumbledore said swiftly. "Stay here."

He raised his wand into the air and pointed it in the direction of Hagrid's cabin. I saw something silvery dart out of it and streak away through the trees like a ghostly bird. Then Dumbledore bent over Krum again, pointed his wand at him, and muttered, "_Ennervate_."

Krum opened his eyes. He looked dazed. When he saw Dumbledore, he tried to sit up, but Dumbledore put a hand on his shoulder and made him lie still.

"He attacked me!" Krum muttered, putting a hand up to his head. "The old madman attacked me! I vos looking around to see vare Potter had gone and he attacked from behind!"

"Lie still for a moment," Dumbledore said.

The sound of thunderous footfalls reached us, and Hagrid came panting into sight with Fang at his heels. He was carrying his crossbow.

"Professor Dumbledore!" he said, his eyes widening. "Harry – what the – ?" I totally didn't feel mad that he hadn't acknowledged me. We didn't even know each other that well. I was _totally _not offended.

"Hagrid, I need you to fetch Professor Karkaroff," said Dumbledore. "His student has been attacked. When you've done that, kindly alert Professor Moody –"

"No need, Dumbledore," said a wheezy growl. "I'm here." Moody was limping toward them, leaning on his staff, his wand lit.

"Damn leg," he said furiously. "Would've been here quicker…what's happened? Snape said something about Crouch –"

"Crouch?" said Hagrid blankly.

"Karkaroff, please, Hagrid!" said Dumbledore sharply.

"Oh yeah…right y'are, Professor…" said Hagrid, and he turned and disappeared into the dark trees, Fang trotting after him.

"I don't know where Barty Crouch is," Dumbledore told Moody, "but it is essential that we find him."

"I'm onto it," growled Moody, and he pulled out his wand and limped off into the forest.

We didn't speak again until we heard the unmistakable sounds of Hagrid and Fang returning. Karkaroff was hurrying along behind them. He was wearing his sleek silver furs, and he looked pale and agitated.

"What is this?" he cried when he saw Krum on the ground and Dumbledore, Harry and I next to him. "What's going on?"

"I vos attacked!" said Krum, sitting up now and rubbing his head. "Mr. Crouch or votever his name -"

"Crouch attacked you? _Crouch_ attacked you? The Triwizard judge?"

"Igor," Dumbledore began, but Karkaroff had drawn himself up, clutching his furs around him, looking livid.

"Treachery!" he bellowed, pointing at Dumbledore. "It is a plot! You and your Ministry of Magic have lured me here under false pretenses, Dumbledore! This is not an equal competition! First you sneak Potter into the tournament, though he is underage! Second, you sneak in these _demigods, _who we didn't even know existed! Now one of your Ministry friends attempts to put my champion out of action! I smell double-dealing and corruption in this whole affair, and you, Dumbledore, you, with your talk of closer international wizarding links, of rebuilding old ties, of forgetting old differences – here's what I think of you!"

Karkaroff spat onto the ground at Dumbledore's feet. In one swift movement, Hagrid seized the front of Karkaroff's furs, lifted him into the air, and slammed him against a nearby tree. "Apologize!" Hagrid snarled as Karkaroff gasped for breath, Hagrid's massive fist at his throat, his feet dangling in midair.

"Hagrid, no!" Dumbledore shouted, his eyes flashing.

Hagrid removed the hand pinning Karkaroff to the tree, and Karkaroff slid all the way down the trunk and slumped in a huddle at its roots; a few twigs and leaves showered down upon his head.

"Kindly escort Harry back up to the castle, Hagrid," said Dumbledore sharply.

Breathing heavily, Hagrid gave Karkaroff a glowering look. "Maybe I'd better stay here, Headmaster…"

"You will take Harry back to school, Hagrid," Dumbledore repeated firmly. "Take him right up to Gryffindor Tower. And Harry - I want you to stay there. Anything you might want to do - any owls you might want to send - they can wait until morning, do you understand me?"

"Er - yes," Harry stared at Dumbledore.

"I'll leave Fang with yeh, Headmaster," Hagrid said, staring menacingly at Karkaroff, who was still sprawled at the foot of the tree, tangled in furs and tree roots. "Stay, Fang. C'mon, Harry." They marched in silence past the Beauxbatons carriage and up toward the castle.

"Igor, believe me when I say I do not know why Barty Crouch is here. He sent an owl, along with a letter, saying that he was unwell, and could not continue his job. I have no information about why he could possibly be wandering around, away from home. Now, I will leave you with Viktor. I am going to escort Percy up to his dormitory. Goodbye, Fang. Goodnight, Igor, Viktor."

Dumbledore and I headed towards the castle.

"Professor Dumbledore, Mr. Crouch was saying some weird things. Sometimes he would pretend he's talking to his assistant, and then he would start saying that he needed to talk to you, that he was at fault, that Voldemort was getting stronger…"

Dumbledore looked like he aged ten years. "Mr. Crouch claimed Voldemort was getting stronger? Are you absolutely sure he said that, Percy?"

"Yeah, he said it twice." I said. "And he said something about his son being evil, and that Harry wasn't safe here, and that his son was after him…"

Dumbledore paused. "Mr. Crouch was talking about his son?" I nodded. Dumbledore began to walk again. We didn't talk again, until we reached the door to the demigod dorm. "Watch over Harry Potter, Percy Jackson. You, and the others. He must stay safe. And, do remember to tell me anything you learn."

"I'll try my best, Professor."

* * *

**The 24****th**** chapter is here! I initially wanted to merge this chapter and the next, but I didn't want to update too late, so I chose not to. **

**The 25****th**** chapter will be out on Thursday! I hope you enjoyed the 24****th**** chapter of the Godly TriWizard Tournament!**


	25. Chapter 25: Wormtail is Tortured

Chapter 25: Wormtail is Tortured

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, or Heroes of Olympus.**

**_[By the way, this chapter isn't as bad as it sounds like it is, I just thought of that as the title (that makes me sound twisted xD Trust me, I'm not. At least, I think I'm not…)]_**

Percy's POV:

The encounter with Mr. Crouch wasn't the only weird thing that happened to Harry and I. Although the rest of May and the beginning of June had passed without any action, a week before the task, I got my first dream since we'd left Camp Half-Blood. Not good. I'd just fallen asleep on a couch, tired from a training session, when I'd entered the dream.

I was riding on the back of an eagle owl, along with Harry, soaring through the clear blue sky toward an old, ivy-covered house set high on a hillside. Instantly, I flinched. I was definitely surprised that it didn't knock me off, and that I was so high in the air where Zeus could strike us down. I tried to speak with Harry, but for some reason, no sound came out of my mouth. Lower and lower we flew, the wind blowing in our faces, until we reached a dark and broken window in the second floor of the house and entered. Now we were flying along a gloomy passageway, to a room at the very end…through the door we went, into a dark room whose windows were boarded up…

Me and Harry had left the owl's back...we were watching, now, as it fluttered across the room, into a chair with its back to us…There were two dark shapes on the floor beside the chair…both of them were stirring…

One was a huge snake…the other was a man…a short, balding man, a man with watery eyes and a pointed nose…he was wheezing and sobbing on the hearth rug…

"You are in luck, Wormtail," said a cold, high-pitched voice from the depths of the chair in which the owl had landed. "You are very fortunate indeed. Your blunder has not ruined everything. He is dead."

"My Lord!" gasped the man on the floor. "My Lord, I am…I am so pleased…and so sorry..."

"Nagini," said the cold voice, "you are out of luck. I will not be feeding Wormtail to you, after all... but never mind, never mind…there is still Harry Potter ..."

The snake hissed. I could see its tongue fluttering.

"Now, Wormtail," said the cold voice, "perhaps one more little reminder why I will not tolerate another blunder from you..."

"My Lord…no…I beg you…"

The tip of a wand emerged from around the back of the chair. It was pointing at Wormtail. "Crucio!" said the cold voice.

Wormtail screamed, screamed as though every nerve in his body were on fire, the screaming filled our ears…Harry fell to his knees, screaming, clutching his scar…I screamed for the voice to stop torturing the man, to stop hurting Harry…and the cold voice would hear us, would know we were there…

"Percy! _Percy!_"

I opened my eyes. I'd fallen to the floor during my dream, everyone standing around me, and Annabeth, Nico, and Thalia were kneeling next to me, looking terrified. I didn't know why Nico and Thalia looked so scared, but hey, the thought counts.

"Are you okay, Percy?!" they yelled together.

"I'm fine." I replied. They didn't seem to believe me. If I was Harry, then I'd understand. He was actually hurt. I'd just screamed and fell off the couch. "It was just a dream."

Thalia groaned. "Thanks for worrying us, Percy."

"A dream? About what, Percy?" Annabeth questioned.

"I'll tell you guys later. Right now, I need to see Dumbledore." He'd told me to tell him anything I learned a few weeks ago. So, after a few staircases and turns, I arrived at Dumbledore's office. But, I had no idea how to get in. There was a stone gargoyle guarding the door to his office, so maybe I had to…I don't know. Someone would probably come by, I thought. I would wait until then.

As if on cue, Harry appeared in the hallway. When he saw me, he ran towards me.

"Percy! Why're you here? D'you get a dream?" Harry asked.

"I wanted to talk to Dumbledore." I said. "Actually, yeah, I did. You were in it, too."

Harry looked worried. "Was…Voldemort…talking to Wormtail?" I nodded.

"Do you know how to get past this?" I gestured to the stone gargoyle.

Harry said tentatively, "Sherbet lemon?" Nothing happened.

"Um, how is that supposed to help?" Wasn't sherbet lemon candy?

Harry ignored me. "Okay," said Harry, staring at it, "Pear Drop. Er – Licorice Wand. Fizzing Whizbee. Drooble's Best Blowing Gum. Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans…oh no, he doesn't like them, does he?... oh just open, can't you?" he said angrily. "We need to see him, it's urgent!"

Still, nothing happened. Harry kicked it, and then clutched his foot, in pain. I could definitely relate.

"Chocolate Frog!" he yelled angrily, standing on one leg. "Sugar Quill! Cockroach Cluster!" The gargoyle sprang to life and jumped aside. Harry blinked.

"Cockroach Cluster?" he said, amazed. "I was only joking..."

We hurried through the gap in the walls and stepped onto the foot of a spiral stone staircase, which moved slowly upward as the doors closed behind us, taking the two of us up to a polished oak door with a brass door knocker.

We could hear voices from inside the office. We stepped off the moving staircase and hesitated, listening.

"Dumbledore, I'm afraid I don't see the connection, don't see it at all!" It was the voice of the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge. "Ludo says Bertha's perfectly capable of getting herself lost. I agree we would have expected to have found her by now, but all the same, we've no evidence of foul play, Dumbledore, none at all. As for her disappearance being linked with Barty Crouch's!"

"And what do you think happened to Barty Crouch, Minister?" Moody growled.

"I see three possibilities, Alastor," said Fudge. "One: Crouch has finally cracked – more than likely, I'm sure you'll agree, given his personal history – lost his mind, and gone wandering off somewhere –"

"He wandered extremely quickly, if that is the case, Cornelius," said Dumbledore calmly.

"Or else – well..." Fudge sounded embarrassed. "Well, I'll reserve judgment until after I've seen the place where he was found, but you say it was just past the Beauxbatons carriage? Dumbledore, you know what that woman is?"

"I consider her to be a very able headmistress – and an excellent dancer," said Dumbledore quietly. I laughed into my head.

"Dumbledore, come!" said Fudge angrily. "Don't you think you might be prejudiced in her favor because of Hagrid? They don't all turn out harmless – if, indeed, you can call Hagrid harmless, with that monster fixation he's got –"

"I no more suspect Madame Maxime than Hagrid," said Dumbledore, just as calmly. "I think it possible that it is you who are prejudiced, Cornelius."

"And you said that demigod, Percy was it, was nearby? You know what they're capable of, Dumbledore! _You _invited them! He may have killed Mr. Crouch!" He isn't an enemy, so probably not. But then, Fudge _did _think I was.

"Percy Jackson did not kill Mr. Crouch, Cornelius. Do you not remember that Viktor was found Stunned? Percy could not have done that."

"Can we wrap up this discussion?" growled Moody.

"Yes, yes, let's go down to the grounds, then," I could tell from Fudge's voice that he was getting impatient.

"No, it's not that," said Moody, "it's just that Potter and Jackson want a word with you, Dumbledore. They're just outside the door."

* * *

**Thanks to Vault713 for giving me the idea to write this :)**

**The 25th chapter is here! This chapter is shorter than I expected. I hope you don't mind!**

**The 26th chapter will be up on Saturday! I hope you enjoyed the 25th chapter of the Godly TriWizard Tournament!**


	26. Chapter 26: Dumbledore's Memories

Chapter 26: Dumbledore's Memories

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, or Heroes of Olympus.**

Percy's POV:

The door of the office opened.

"Hello, Potter, Jackson," Moody said. "Come in, then."

We walked inside. I'd had never been inside Dumbledore's office. It was a very beautiful, circular room, lined with pictures of (I'm guessing) previous headmasters and headmistresses of Hogwarts, all of whom were fast asleep, their chests rising and falling gently.

The man who had to be Cornelius Fudge was standing beside Dumbledore's desk, wearing his usual pinstriped cloak and holding his lime-green bowler hat.

"Harry!" Fudge was very happy to see him, moving forward. "How are you?" He ignored my existence. Probably because he'd been accusing me of murder a minute ago.

"Fine," Harry replied.

"We were just talking about the night when Mr. Crouch turned up on the grounds," said Fudge. "It was you who found him, was it not?"

"Yes," Harry added, "I didn't see Madame Maxime anywhere, though, and she'd have a job hiding, wouldn't she? And, Percy doesn't even have a wand." I grinned.

Dumbledore smiled at Harry behind Fudge's back, his eyes twinkling.

"Yes, well," said Fudge, looking embarrassed, "we're about to go for a short walk on the grounds, Harry, if you'll excuse us…perhaps if you just go back to your class -"

"We wanted to talk to you, Professor," Harry said quickly, looking at Dumbledore, who gave us a swift, searching look.

"Wait here for me," he said. "Our examination of the grounds will not take long."

They trooped out in silence past us and closed the door. After about a minute, I heard the clunks of Moody's wooden leg growing fainter in the corridor below. We looked around.

"Hello, Fawkes," he petted him. Fawkes turned out to be Professor Dumbledore's phoenix. He was standing on his golden perch beside the door. The size of a swan, with magnificent scarlet-and-gold plumage, he swished his long tail and blinked benignly at Harry.

Harry and I sat down in a chair in front of Dumbledore's desk. For several minutes, he sat and watched the old headmasters and headmistresses snoozing in their frames, thinking about what he had just heard, and running his fingers over his scar. He looked definitely calmer than he was in our dream.

Harry looked up at the walls behind the desk.

The patched and ragged Sorting Hat was standing on a shelf. A glass case next to it held a magnificent silver sword with large rubies set into the hilt. While staring at it, I noticed a patch of silvery light, dancing and shimmering on the glass case. Harry also seemed to notice it. We looked around for the source of the light and saw a sliver of silver-white shining brightly from within a black cabinet behind him, whose door had not been closed properly. I got up, walked across the office, and pulled open the cabinet door. Harry, after hesitating, walked over and stood beside me.

A large, shallow stone basin lay there, with odd carvings around the edge: runes and symbols that Harry did not recognize. The silvery light was coming from the basin's contents, which were like nothing I'd ever seen before. I couldn't tell whether the stuff was liquid or gas. It was a bright, whitish silver, and it was moving continually; the surface of it became ruffled like water beneath wind, and then, like clouds, separated and swirled smoothly. It looked like light made liquid – or like wind made solid – I didn't know which.

I wanted to touch it, to find out what it felt like, but with years of experience of the demigod world told him that sticking his hand into a bowl full of some unknown substance was a dumb thing to do. Harry pulled his wand out of the inside of his robes, gave me a nervous look, stared back at the contents of the basin, and poked them. The surface of the silvery stuff inside the basin began to swirl very fast.

"Um…do you know what you're doing?" I asked. Harry shook his head. "Okay, then…"

We bent closer, our heads right inside the cabinet (surprisingly, it wasn't cramped). The silvery substance had become transparent; it looked like glass. We looked down into it expecting to see the stone bottom of the bowl – and saw instead an enormous room below the surface of the mysterious substance, a room into which we seemed to be looking through a circular window in the ceiling.

The room was dimly lit; I thought it might even be underground, because there were no windows, only torches in like the ones that brightened the walls of Hogwarts. Lowering our faces so that our noses were only an inch away from the glassy substance, we saw that rows and rows of witches and wizards were seated around every wall on benches rising in levels. An empty chair stood in the very center of the room. There was something about the chair that gave me a strange feeling. Chains were wrapped around the arms of it, as if the person sitting in it was usually tied to it.

Where was this place? It didn't look like Hogwarts; I'd never seen a room like that here in the castle. But then, nowadays, I mostly stayed in our dorm. The crowd in the mysterious room at the bottom of the basin was made up of adults, and I knew there were not that many teachers at Hogwarts.

They seemed, I thought, to be waiting for something; they were all looking in the same direction, and nobody was talking.

The bowl being circular, and the room we were observing square, we couldn't see what was happening in the corners. Getting the same idea, we both leaned even closer, tilting our heads, trying to see...

The tip of Harry's nose touched the strange substance into which he was staring.

Dumbledore's office gave an almighty lurch – both Harry and I were thrown forward and pitched headfirst into the substance inside the basin – But our heads didn't hit the stone bottom. We were falling through something icy-cold and black; it was like being sucked into a dark whirlpool – And suddenly, we found ourselves sitting on a bench at the end of the room inside the basin, a bench raised high above the others. I looked up at the high stone ceiling, expecting to see the circular window through which we'd had just been staring, but there was nothing there but dark, solid stone.

Breathing hard and fast, Harry looked around us. Not one of the witches and wizards in the room (and there were at least two hundred of them) had noticed us. I turned to the wizard next to me on the bench and yelled, the sound echoing through the room.

We were sitting right next to Albus Dumbledore.

"Professor!" Harry said in a kind of strangled whisper. "We're sorry – we didn't mean to – we were just looking at that basin in your cabinet – we – where are we?"

But Dumbledore didn't move or speak. He ignored Harry completely. Like every other wizard on the benches, he was staring into the far corner of the room, where there was a door.

Harry stared at Dumbledore, confused, then around at the silently watchful crowd, then back at Dumbledore. And he seemed to figure out something.

Harry raised his right hand, hesitated, and then waved it energetically in from of Dumbledore's face. Dumbledore did not blink, look around at Harry, or move at all. And that seemed to prove his thought correct.

"We're in a memory," Harry whispered.

"Oh," I murmured.

I looked around more carefully. The room, I'd thought when I was watching it from above, was probably underground – more of a dungeon than a room, I thought.

There was a bleak and forbidding air about the place; there were no pictures on the walls, no decorations at all; just these serried rows of benches, rising in levels all around the room, all positioned so that we had a clear view of that chair with the chains on its arms.

Before I could reach any conclusions about the place in which they were, I heard footsteps. The door in the corner of the dungeon opened and three people entered – or at least one man, flanked by two dementors.

My insides went cold. Nico had told us about them. They were another of Hades' servants, and he'd given them to the wizards to guard the wizard prison. The dementors – tall, hooded creatures whose faces were concealed – were gliding slowly toward the chair in the center of the room, each grasping one of the man's arms with their dead and rotten-looking hands. The man between them looked like he was about to faint, and I couldn't blame him. I knew the dementors couldn't touch me inside a memory, but I remembered their power only too well (Nico's explanation was too freaky). The watching crowd recoiled slightly as the dementors placed the man in the chained chair and glided back out of the room. The door swung shut behind them.

I looked down at the man now sitting in the chair and saw that it was Karkaroff.

Karkaroff looked much younger; his hair and goatee were black. He was not dressed in sleek furs, but in thin and ragged robes. He was shaking. Even as I watched, the chains on the arms of the chair glowed suddenly gold and snaked their way up Karkaroff's arms, binding him there.

"Igor Karkaroff," a curt voice announced to Harry's left. Harry and I looked around and noticed Mr. Crouch standing up in the middle of the bench beside him. Crouch's hair was dark, his face was much less lined, he looked fit and alert. "You have been brought from Azkaban to present evidence to the Ministry of Magic. You have given us to understand that you have important information for us."

Karkaroff straightened himself as much as he could, tightly bound to the chair.

"I have, sir," he said, and even though his voice wavered, I could still hear the familiar oily sound in it. "I wish to be of use to the Ministry. I wish to help. I - I know that the Ministry is trying to - to round up the last of the Dark Lord's supporters. I am eager to assist in any way I can..." So I was right suspecting Karkaroff. I concluded. He was a Death Eater.

There was a murmur around the benches. Some of the wizards and witches were surveying Karkaroff with interest, others with mistrust. Then me and Harry heard, quite distinctly, from Dumbledore's other side, a familiar, growling voice saying, "Filth."

We both leaned forward so that we could see past Dumbledore. Mad-Eye Moody was sitting there –except that he looked very different. He did not have his magical eye, but two normal ones. Both were looking down upon Karkaroff, and both were narrowed in intense dislike.

"Crouch is going to let him out," Moody breathed quietly to Dumbledore. "He's done a deal with him. Took me six months to track him down, and Crouch is going to let him go if he's got enough new names. Let's hear his information, I say, and throw him straight back to the dementors."

Dumbledore made a small noise of dissent through his long, crooked nose.

"Ah, I was forgetting…you don't like the dementors, do you, Albus?" said Moody with a sardonic smile.

"No," said Dumbledore calmly, "I'm afraid I don't. I have long felt the Ministry is wrong to ally itself with such creatures." Uncle down south wouldn't like to hear that, I thought. But then he would, because seems to like scaring people.

"But for filth like this…" Moody said softly.

"You say you have names for us, Karkaroff," said Mr. Crouch. "Let us hear them, please."

"You must understand," said Karkaroff hurriedly, "that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named operated always in the greatest secrecy….He preferred that we – I mean to say, his supporters – and I regret now, very deeply, that I ever counted myself among them –"

"Get on with it," sneered Moody.

"— we never knew the names of every one of our fellows – He alone knew exactly who we all were –"

"Which was a wise move, wasn't it, as it prevented someone like you, Karkaroff, from turning all of them in," muttered Moody.

"Yet you say you have some names for us?" said Mr. Crouch.

"I – I do," said Karkaroff breathlessly. "And these were important supporters, mark you. People I saw with my own eyes doing his bidding. I give this information as a sign that I fully and totally renounce him, and am filled with a remorse so deep I can barely –"

I don't think that they wanted to hear his sob story, seeing how quickly Mr. Crouch interrupted him.

"These names are?" Mr. Crouch asked sharply.

Karkaroff drew a deep breath. "There was Antonin Dolohov," he said. "I – I saw him torture countless Muggles and – and non-supporters of the Dark Lord."

"And helped him do it," Moody whispered.

"We have already apprehended Dolohov," Crouch told him. "He was caught shortly after yourself."

"Indeed?" said Karkaroff, his eyes widening. "I – I am delighted to hear it!" But he didn't look happy. I could tell that this news had come as a real blow to him. One of his names was worthless.

"Any others?" Crouch said icily.

"Why, yes…there was Rosier," Karkaroff said hurriedly. "Evan Rosier."

"Rosier is dead," Mr. Crouch replied. "He was caught shortly after you were too. He preferred to fight rather than come quietly and was killed in the struggle."

"Took a bit of me with him, though," Moody murmured. Me and Harry looked at him again, and we both saw him indicating the large chunk out of his nose to Dumbledore.

"No – no more than Rosier deserved!" Karkaroff had a real note of panic in his voice now. I could see that he was starting to worry that none of his information would be of any use to the Ministry. Karkaroff's eyes darted toward the door in the corner, behind which the dementors most likely still stood, waiting.

"Any more?" said Crouch.

"Yes!" said Karkaroff. "There was Travers – he helped murder the McKinnons! Mulciber –he specialized in the Imperius Curse, forced countless people to do horrific things! Rookwood, who was a spy, and passed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named useful information from inside the Ministry itself!"

I could tell that, this time, Karkaroff had struck gold. The watching crowd were all murmuring together.

"Rookwood?" Mr. Crouch nodded to a witch sitting in front of him, who began scribbling upon her piece of parchment. "Augustus Rookwood of the Department of Mysteries?"

"The very same," Karkaroff was very eager. "I believe he used a network of well-placed wizards, both inside the Ministry and out, to collect information –"

"But Travers and Mulciber we have," said Mr. Crouch. "Very well, Karkaroff, if that is all, you will be returned to Azkaban while we decide –"

"Not yet!" cried Karkaroff, looking quite desperate. "Wait, I have more!" I could see him sweating in the torchlight, his white skin contrasting strongly with the black of his hair and beard.

"Snape!" he shouted. "Severus Snape!" Snape is a Death Eater? I thought. That's definitely surprising.

"Snape has been cleared by this council," said Crouch disdainfully. "He has been vouched for by Albus Dumbledore."

"No!" shouted Karkaroff, straining at the chains that bound him to the chair. "I assure you! Severus Snape is a Death Eater!"

Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. "I have given evidence already on this matter," he said calmly. "Severus Snape was indeed a Death Eater. However, he rejoined our side before Lord Voldemort's downfall and turned spy for us, at great personal risk. He is now no more a Death Eater than I am." That seemed true.

I turned to look at Mad-Eye Moody. He was wearing a look of deep skepticism behind Dumbledore's back.

"Very well, Karkaroff," Crouch said coldly, "you have been of assistance. I shall review your case. You will return to Azkaban in the meantime..." Mr. Crouch's voice faded. Harry and I looked around; the dungeon was dissolving as though it were made of smoke; everything was fading; we could see only our bodies –everything else was swirling darkness…

And then, the dungeon returned. We were sitting in a different seat, still on the highest bench, but now to the left side of Mr. Crouch. The atmosphere seemed quite different: relaxed, even cheerful. The witches and wizards all around the walls were talking to one another, almost as though they were at some sort of sporting event. We both noticed a witch halfway up the rows of benches opposite. She had short blonde hair, was wearing magenta robes, and was sucking the end of an acid-green quill. It was, unmistakably, a younger Rita Skeeter. I looked at the person next to me; Dumbledore was sitting beside me again, wearing different robes. Mr. Crouch looked more tired and somehow fiercer, gaunter…I understood. It was a different memory, a different day…a different trial.

The door in the corner opened, and Ludo Bagman walked into the room. This was not, however, a Ludo Bagman gone to seed, but a Ludo Bagman who was clearly at the height of his Quidditch-playing fitness. His nose wasn't broken now; he was tall and lean and muscular. Bagman looked nervous as he sat down in the chained chair, but it did not bind him there as it had bound Karkaroff, and Bagman, perhaps taking heart from this, glanced around at the watching crowd, waved at a couple of them, and managed a small smile.

"Ludo Bagman, you have been brought here in front of the Council of Magical Law to answer charges relating to the activities of the Death Eaters," said Mr. Crouch. "We have heard the evidence against you, and are about to reach our verdict. Do you have anything to add to your testimony before we pronounce judgment?"

I couldn't believe my ears. Ludo Bagman, a Death Eater? I could swear that Harry's eyes were going to pop out from how wide they were getting.

"Only," Bagman smiled awkwardly, "well – I know I've been a bit of an idiot –"

One or two wizards and witches in the surrounding seats smiled indulgently. Mr. Crouch did not appear to share their feelings. He was staring down at Ludo Bagman with an expression of the utmost severity and dislike.

"You never spoke a truer word, boy," someone muttered dryly to Dumbledore behind Harry.

I looked around and saw Moody sitting there again. "If I didn't know he'd always been dim, I'd have said some of those Bludgers had permanently affected his brain..."

"Ludovic Bagman, you were caught passing information to Lord Voldemort's supporters," said Mr. Crouch. "For this, I suggest a term of imprisonment in Azkaban lasting no less than -"

But there was an angry outcry from the surrounding benches. Several of the witches and wizards around the walls stood up, shaking their heads, and even their fists, at Mr. Crouch.

"But I've told you, I had no idea!" Bagman called earnestly over the crowd's babble, his round blue eyes widening. "None at all! Old Rookwood was a friend of my dad's…never crossed my mind he was in with You-Know-Who! I thought I was collecting information for our side! And Rookwood kept talking about getting me a job in the Ministry later on…once my Quidditch days are over, you know…I mean, I can't keep getting hit by Bludgers for the rest of my life, can I?"

There were whispers from the crowd.

"It will be put to the vote," said Mr. Crouch coldly. He turned to the right-hand side of the dungeon. "The jury will please raise their hands…those in favor of imprisonment..."

Me and Harry looked toward the right-hand side of the dungeon. No one raised their hand. Many of the witches and wizards around the walls began to clap. One of the witches on the jury stood up.

"Yes?" barked Crouch.

"We'd just like to congratulate Mr. Bagman on his splendid performance for England in the Quidditch match against Turkey last Saturday," the witch said breathlessly. (**What a fangirl xD)**

Mr. Crouch looked furious. The dungeon was ringing with applause now. Bagman got to his feet and bowed, beaming.

"Despicable," Mr. Crouch spat at Dumbledore, sitting down as Bagman walked out of the dungeon. "Rookwood get him a job indeed…The day Ludo Bagman joins us will be a sad day indeed for the Ministry…"

And the dungeon dissolved again. When it had returned, me and Harry looked around. Me, Harry, and Dumbledore were still sitting beside Mr. Crouch, but the atmosphere could not have been more different. There was total silence, broken only by the dry sobs of a frail, wispy-looking witch in the seat next to Mr. Crouch. She was clutching a handkerchief to her mouth with trembling hands.

I looked up at Crouch and he didn't look too good. He was gaunter and grayer than ever before. A nerve was twitching in his temple.

"Bring them in," he said, and his voice echoed through the silent dungeon.

The door in the corner opened yet again. Six dementors entered this time, flanking a group of four people. Me and Harry saw the people in the crowd turn to look up at Mr. Crouch. A few of them whispered to one another.

The dementors placed each of the four people in the four chairs with chained arms that now stood on the dungeon floor. There was a thickset man who stared blankly up at Crouch; a thinner and more nervous-looking man, whose eyes were darting around the crowd; a woman with thick, shining dark hair and heavily hooded eyes, who was sitting in the chained chair as though it were a throne; and a boy in his late teens, who looked scared as the Underworld (h*ll, if you didn't get it. But, you probably did). He was shivering, his straw-colored hair all over his face, his freckled skin milk-white. The wispy little witch beside Crouch began to rock backward and forward in her seat, whimpering into her handkerchief.

Mr. Crouch stood up. He looked down upon the four in front of him, and there was pure hatred in his face.

"You have been brought here before the Council of Magical Law," he said clearly, "so that we may pass judgment on you, for a crime so heinous –"

"Father," said the boy with the straw-colored hair. "Father…please…" So this was Mr. Crouch's son who'd turned evil. But, Mr. Crouch didn't seem to feel bad for him right now, unlike he was a few weeks ago.

"— that we have rarely heard the like of it within this court," said Crouch, speaking more loudly, drowning out his son's voice. "We have heard the evidence against you. The four of you stand accused of capturing an Auror - Frank Longbottom - and subjecting him to the Cruciatus Curse, believing him to have knowledge of the present whereabouts of your exiled master, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named –"

"Father, I didn't!" shrieked the boy in chains below. "I didn't, I swear it. Father, don't send me back to the dementors –"

"You are further accused," Mr. Crouch shouted, "of using the Cruciatus Curse on Frank Longbottom's wife, when he would not give you information. You planned to restore He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to power, and to resume the lives of violence you presumably led while he was strong. I now ask the jury –"

"Mother!" screamed the boy below, and the wispy little witch beside Crouch began to sob, rocking backward and forward. "Mother, stop him. Mother, I didn't do it, it wasn't me!"

"I now ask the jury," Mr. Crouch yelled, "to raise their hands if they believe, as I do, that these crimes deserve a life sentence in Azkaban!"

In unison, the witches and wizards along the right-hand side of the dungeon raised their hands. The crowd around the walls began to clap as it had for Bagman, but this time, their faces were full of savage triumph. The boy began to scream.

"No! Mother, no! I didn't do it, I didn't do it, I didn't know! Don't send me there, don't let him!"

The dementors were gliding back into the room. The boys' three companions rose quietly from their seats; the woman with the heavy-lidded eyes looked up at Crouch and called, "The Dark Lord will rise again, Crouch! Throw us into Azkaban; we will wait! He will rise again and will come for us, he will reward us beyond any of his other supporters! We alone were faithful! We alone tried to find him!"

But the boy was trying to fight off the dementors, even though we could see their cold, draining power starting to affect him. The crowd was jeering, some of them on their feet, as the woman swept out of the dungeon, and the boy continued to struggle.

"I'm your son!" he screamed at Crouch. "I'm your son!"

"You are no son of mine!" Mr. Crouch yelled, his eyes bulging suddenly. "I have no son!"

The wispy witch beside him gave a great gasp and slumped in her seat. She had fainted. Crouch appeared not to have noticed.

"Take them away!" Crouch roared at the dementors, spit flying from his mouth. "Take them away, and may they rot there!"

"Father! Father, I wasn't involved! No! No! Father, please!"

"I think, Harry, Percy, that it is time to return to my office," a quiet voice said in our ears.

We stared. We looked around. Then we looked behind us.

There was an Albus Dumbledore sitting on his right, watching Crouch's son being dragged away by the dementors - and there was an Albus Dumbledore behind us, looking right at us.

"Come," Dumbledore instructed, and he put his hand under our elbows. I felt myself rising into the air; the dungeon dissolved around me; for a moment, all was blackness, and then I felt as though I'd done a slow-motion somersault, suddenly landing flat on my feet, in what seemed like the dazzling light of Dumbledore's sunlit office. The stone basin was shimmering in the cabinet in front of me, and Albus Dumbledore and Harry were standing next to me.

"Professor," Harry gasped, "I know we shouldn't've – we didn't mean – the cabinet door was sort of open and –"

"Well, _I _didn't mean to. I kinda got pulled in along with him." Harry gave me a look.

"I quite understand," said Dumbledore. He lifted the basin, carried it over to his desk, placed it upon the polished top, and sat down in the chair behind it. He motioned for us to sit down opposite him.

We obeyed, staring at the stone basin. The contents had returned to their original, silvery-white state, swirling and rippling beneath our gaze.

"What is it?" Harry asked shakily.

"This? It is called a Pensieve," Dumbledore explained. "I sometimes find, and I am sure you know the feeling, that I simply have too many thoughts and memories crammed into my mind."

"I guess," I said.

"At these times," said Dumbledore, indicating the stone basin, "I use the Pensieve. One simply siphons the excess thoughts from one's mind, pours them into the basin, and examines them at one's leisure. It becomes easier to spot patterns and links, you understand, when they are in this form." Um, what? He'd totally lost me.

"You mean…that stuff's your thoughts?" Harry stared at the swirling white substance in the basin. Oh. I got it now.

"Certainly," said Dumbledore. "Let me show you."

Dumbledore drew his wand out of the inside of his robes and placed the tip into his own silvery hair, near his temple. When he took the wand away, hair seemed to be clinging to it – but then we saw that it was in fact a shimmering strand of the same strange silvery-white substance that filled the Pensieve. Dumbledore added this fresh thought to the basin, and Harry, astonished, saw his own face swimming around the surface of the bowl. Dumbledore placed his long hands on either side of the Pensieve and swirled it, and we saw Harry's face change smoothly into Snape's, who opened his mouth and spoke to the ceiling, his voice echoing slightly.

"It's coming back…Karkaroff's too…stronger and clearer than ever..."

"A connection I could have made without assistance," Dumbledore sighed, "but never mind." He peered over the top of his half-moon spectacles at us. "I was using the Pensieve when Mr. Fudge arrived for our meeting and put it away rather hastily. Undoubtedly I did not fasten the cabinet door properly. Naturally, it would have attracted your attention."

"We're sorry," we mumbled.

Dumbledore shook his head. "Curiosity is not a sin," he said. "But we should exercise caution with our curiosity…yes, indeed..."

Frowning slightly, he prodded the thoughts within the basin with the tip of his wand.

Instantly, a figure rose out of it, a plump, scowling girl of about sixteen, who began to revolve slowly, with her feet still in the basin. She didn't seem to notice any of us. When she spoke, her voice echoed as Snape's had, as though it were coming from the depths of the stone basin. "He put a hex on me, Professor Dumbledore, and I was only teasing him, sir, I only said I'd seen him kissing Florence behind the greenhouses last Thursday…"

"But why,Bertha," Dumbledore asked sadly, looking up at the now silently revolving girl, "why did you have to follow him in the first place?"

"Bertha?" Harry whispered, looking up at her. "Is that – was that Bertha Jorkins?"

"Yes," said Dumbledore, prodding the thoughts in the basin again; Bertha sank back into them, and they became silvery and opaque once more. "That was Bertha as I remember her at school. So, Harry, Percy. Before you got lost in my thoughts, you two wanted to tell me something."

"Yes," said Harry. "Professor - I was in Divination just now, and - er - I fell asleep."

He hesitated here, probably wondering if he'd get yelled at, but Dumbledore just said, "Quite understandable. Continue."

"And I fell asleep after a sword-fighting training session. And we both had a dream. The same dream." I clarified.

"A dream about Lord Voldemort." Harry stated. "He was torturing Wormtail…you know who Wormtail is –"

"Now I do." I interrupted. "Go on," Harry rolled his eyes.

"I do know," said Dumbledore promptly. "Please continue."

"Voldemort got a letter from an owl. He said something like, Wormtail's blunder had been repaired. He said someone was dead. Then he said, Wormtail wouldn't be fed to the snake – there was a snake beside his chair. He said – he said he'd be feeding me to it, instead. Then he did the Cruciatus Curse on Wormtail – and my scar hurt," Harry said. "It woke me up, it hurt so badly."

Dumbledore just looked at him.

"Er – that's all," said Harry.

"I see," said Dumbledore quietly. "I see. Now, has your scar hurt at any other time this year, except the time it woke you up over the summer?"

"No, I - how did you know it woke me up over the summer?" said Harry, astonished.

"You are not Sirius's only correspondent," said Dumbledore. "I have also been in contact with him ever since he left Hogwarts last year. It was I who suggested the mountainside cave as the safest place for him to stay."

Dumbledore got up and began walking up and down behind his desk. Every now and then, he placed his wand tip to his temple, removed another shining silver thought, and added it to the Pensieve. The thoughts inside began to swirl so fast that I couldn't make out anything clearly: It was just a blur of color.

"Professor?" Harry murmured, after a couple of minutes.

Dumbledore stopped pacing and looked at him. "My apologies," he said quietly. He sat back down at his desk.

"D'you - d'you know why my scar's hurting me?"

Dumbledore looked very intently at Harry for a moment, and then said, "I have a theory, no more than that…It is my belief that your scar hurts both when Lord Voldemort is near you, and when he is feeling a particularly strong surge of hatred."

"But…why?"

"Because you and he are connected by the curse that failed," said Dumbledore. "That is no ordinary scar."

"So you think…that dream…did it really happen?"

"It did. Demigods only get dreams of messages, and dreams of the past, present, and future." I explained. (I'm not exactly sure if they do, so if they don't, then I'm making it up.)

"Harry, Percy – did you see Voldemort?"

"No," said Harry. "Just the back of his chair. But – there wouldn't have been anything to see, would there? I mean, he hasn't got a body, has he? But…but then how could he have held the wand?" Harry said slowly.

"How indeed?" muttered Dumbledore. "How indeed…" This was getting creepy!

We didn't speak for a while. Dumbledore was gazing across the room, and, every now and then, placing his wand tip to his temple and adding another glimmering silver thought to the large amound the Pensieve.

"Professor," Harry said at last, "do you think he's getting stronger?"

"Voldemort?" said Dumbledore, looking at Harry over the Pensieve. " Harry, I can only give you my suspicions." Dumbledore sighed again, and he looked older, and wearier, than ever. "The years of Voldemort's ascent to power," he said, "were marked with disappearances. Bertha Jorkins has vanished without a trace in the place where Voldemort was certainly known to be last –"

"Before Harry left to get you he said that she died and that it was his fault," I mentioned.

Dumbledore gave yet another sigh. "Mr. Crouch too has disappeared…within these very grounds. And there was a third disappearance, one which the Ministry, I regret to say, do not consider of any importance, for it concerns a Muggle. His name was Frank Bryce, he lived in the village where Voldemort's father grew up, and he has not been seen since last August. You see, I read the Muggle newspapers, unlike most of my Ministry friends." Dumbledore looked very seriously at Harry.

"These disappearances seem to me to be linked. The Ministry disagrees – as you two may have heard, while waiting outside my office."

We both nodded. Silence fell between us again, Dumbledore extracting thoughts every now and then. I thought that I should go, since the meeting was mostly over, so I got up from my chair.

"Goodbye, Professor." I announced. "They're probably worrying about me. You going to, Harry?"

Harry turned around in his chair and shook his head. "I still have some questions to ask."

"Goodbye, Percy. I thank you for watching him." Dumbledore looked at Harry, who was still looking at me. I could tell that he thought of Harry as a son. I smiled back at him, and exited Dumbledore's office.

* * *

**The 26th chapter is done! I know that there is _a lot_ from the book, but I can't cut it out or change it, it's too important… I hope you understand!**

**To me, the ending of this chapter seemed kinda weird, but I know that Dumbledore does seem to care a lot for Harry so it's not so out of the blue…right?**

**The next chapter is probably the Third Task (not totally sure though). When it comes out though, I'm not sure yet. The earliest will be Tuesday. I hope you enjoyed the 26th chapter of the Godly TriWizard Tournament!**


	27. Chapter 27: The Third Task Part 1

Chapter 27: The Third Task Part 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus.**

Percy's POV:

The rest of the week was pretty normal. I still hadn't figured out what Crouch was talking about and Harry and my dream, but it could wait until the tournament was over. All I needed to worry about is keeping Harry alive.

The morning of the task was pretty loud at the student side of the Gryffindor table. Harry got in the newspaper _again _(Holy Hera, Rita Skeeter just doesn't give up!), and this time the article was talking about earlier this week when we got the dream. Supposedly, he was 'disturbed and dangerous'. Malfoy gave Harry the news, and he, along with his two bodyguards, were laughing pretty hard as Harry read. Surprisingly, he didn't get too pissed off, and Hermione got a lead on how Rita Skeeter might be sneaking around the castle.

After breakfast, I went down to the lake for a swim. I know, probably not smart of me, but hey, I'm not a son of Athena. It'd been a while since I visited the lake (I avoided the grounds in case I could be attacked by a crazy wizard) but I wanted to relax before the task. I visited the mertown and apologized to the merman I threatened (he looked pretty pissed and gripped his spear when he saw me so I thought I should). It was a pretty boring visit (no offense) because they would either just greet me and swim away or just stay in their house.

I was swimming to the giant squid's cave for a more interesting visit when a yellow light flew towards me, coming from the surface of the water. I swam up and climbed out of the lake dry. A foot away from me was Luna and Nico, sitting in the grass.

"So…having a nice date?"

Nico rolled his eyes, but his cheeks seemed pinker than usual. Nah, I thought, I'm seeing things. My eyes were too used to seeing so much blue. Nico, the son of Hades, Ghost King, could _not _be blushing. We were just joking about him and Luna being a couple. They were just close friends. I think.

"Luna's delivering a message. I'm just accompanying her." Nico nudged Luna, who was making a flower move in the palm of her hand with magic.

She looked dazed for a moment, but her grey eyes refocused in a few seconds. "They need you in the room behind the staff table. All of the other champions went already and left. You were supposed to go earlier, but no one could find you. I supposed that was thanks to the wrackspurts flying around everyone's heads."

"For what? The task starts at night." What else could we be doing?

"Your family is here, Percy. Well, we_ are_ part of your family too, but that's not what I mean. All the champions' parents and siblings were allowed to come watch the third task." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. My mom was here?!

"Ok, thanks," I ran off to the castle. The entrance hall and the Great Hall were both empty. I ran up to the staff table and entered the side chamber.

Right as I walked in, someone with the strength of a tractor enveloped me in their arms and squeezed all the air out of me. Instantly, I knew who it was. Only one person with that much strength ever hugged me so tightly.

"Tyson!" I yelled. "I'm glad to see you too, but I need to breathe!"

Tyson let go of me right away, and he grinned at me. "Brother! You are okay! I missed you." Tyson pouted.

"I missed you too." I smiled at him.

"Daddy's here to see you. And Percy's mommy and other daddy."

"Dad's here?" With those words, Poseidon appeared next to Tyson. He was wearing his usual outfit, but he looked weird, seeing most of the people in the room were wearing robes, and that he was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and Bermuda shorts in Scotland, where it's pretty cold.

"Hello, Percy. I trust you're doing well?"

I nodded. "Why are you here? Aren't you busy?"

"A father can see his son, I believe." Poseidon replied. "I am busy, I'm here to say hello, and I'll be back when the task starts. I've left Triton in charge. He seemed very happy about it. It's good practice for him, as my successor. "

As you can tell, it got pretty awkward after that. Seizing the moment, Poseidon said goodbye, and teleported back to his palace, leaving a sea breeze behind him. My mom and Paul walked up to me, and she gave me a huge hug.

"Percy! It's been so long since I've seen you!" She teared up. I hugged her harder.

"How're you doing? Winning the tournament?" Paul asked.

I grinned. "Of course, but Harry's tied with me."

"So, are you nervous about tonight?"

I shrugged. "Nothing's been too hard. But maybe they'll bring out all the stops, since it's the last task."

There started to be sounds of chairs screeching and chatter. Looking at the clock, I realized it was lunch. We walked out of the room and had lunch, and afterwards, I brought them up to our dorm, and showed them the place. After we brushed up Paul's combat skills (he really wanted to practice) we headed down for dinner. There were more courses than usual, but I didn't eat too much, because I might be too full to run. As the sky turned from blue to dusky purple, Dumbledore got up from the staff table and silence fell.

"Ladies and gentlemen, in five minutes' time, I will be asking you to make your way down to the Quidditch field –" –Paul whispered, "What's Quidditch?" "Wizard sport," I answered— "for the third and final task of the Godly TriWizard Tournament. Will the champions please follow Mr. Bagman down to the stadium now."

Reyna, Harry and I got up; the Gryffindors and demigods applauded us; my parents (now including Poseidon) and everyone else (the nine on the quest) wished us good luck, and we headed off out of the Great Hall with Cedric, Fleur and Krum.

"Feeling off, Harry?" Bagman asked as we went down the stone steps onto the grounds. "Confident?"

"I'm okay," Harry responded.

We walked onto the Quidditch field, which was now had a twenty-foot-high hedge running all the way around the edge of it. There was a gap right in front of us: the entrance to the huge maze. The passage beyond it looked dark and creepy.

Five minutes later, the stands had begun to fill; the air was full of excited voices and the rumbling of feet as the hundreds of students filed into their seats. The sky was a deep, clear blue now, and the first stars were starting to appear. Hagrid, Professor Moody, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Flitwick came walking into the stadium and approached Bagman and the champions. They were wearing large, red, luminous stars on their hats, all except Hagrid, who had his on the back of his moleskin vest.

"We are going to be patrolling the outside of the maze," Professor McGonagall announced to us champions. "If you get into difficulty, and wish to be rescued, send red sparks into the air, and one of us will come and get you, do you understand?"

We nodded.

"Off you go, then!" said Bagman brightly to the four patrollers.

The four of them walked away in different directions, to station themselves around the maze. Bagman now pointed his wand at his throat, muttered, "Sonorus," and his magically magnified voice echoed into the stands.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Godly Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me remind you how the points currently stand! Tied in first place, with ninty-five points each - Mr. Percy Jackson and Mr. Harry Potter, from Camp Half-Blood and Hogwarts School!" The cheers and applause sent birds from the Forbidden Forest fluttering into the darkening sky. "Tied in second place, with ninety points each- Ms. Reyna Arellano and Mr. Cedric Diggory, of Camp Jupiter and Hogwarts School!" More applause. "In third place, with eighty points – Mr. Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Institute! And lastly, in fourth place, Fleur Delacour, of Beauxbatons Academy!"

"So…on my whistle, Percy and Harry!" Bagman cried. "Three – two – one –"

He blew a short blast into the whistle and me and Harry headed into the creepy, dark maze.

* * *

**The 27th chapter is here! Yes, I did part one and part two again. I'm sorry if you don't like it :( I was trying really hard to get out a chapter today, and this was all I could write :'(**

**The 28th chapter will probably be up on Friday, but I'm not sure. If I don't, then this will probably be the only chapter for this week. I'm getting really busy since my school is starting soon. I'M SORRY; I'M TRYING MY HARDEST! I hope you enjoyed the 28th chapter of the Godly TriWizard Tournament!**


	28. Chapter 28: The Third Task Part 2

Chapter 28: The Third Task Part 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, or Heroes of Olympus.**

Percy's POV:

The towering hedges cast black shadows across the path, and either because they were so tall and thick or because they had been enchanted, the sound of the surrounding crowd was silenced the moment we entered the maze. I pulled out Riptide for some light, and heard Harry mutter "_Lumos_" behind me.

After about fifty yards, we reached a fork. We looked at each other.

"See you," Harry said, and he took the left one, and I took the right.

I heard Bagman's whistle for the second time. Reyna and Cedric had entered the maze. I sped up. For some reason, this path seemed empty. I turned left, and kept running, holding my sword high over my head, trying to see as far ahead as possible. Still, there was nothing in sight.

Bagman's whistle blew in the distance for the third time. It was Krum's turn to come in the maze.

I kept looking behind me. It felt like I was being watched.

Bagman's whistle rang through the air for the fourth time. All the champions were now in the maze.

The maze was growing darker with every passing minute as the sky overhead deepened to navy. I reached a second fork.

I had no idea where to go. But, the cup would probably be in the center, right? That was northeast of me. So I would need to take the right fork and take the first left.

This path was empty too, and when I took the first left, that way was also clear. This was getting really weird. Monsters never really left me alone, since I'm a child of the Big Three. It seemed like the maze was trying to make you feel safe, and then attack when you don't expect it.

I kept on running, and as I turned a corner, I saw…a hellhound bounding towards me. Seeing it, I felt a pang of sadness. It'd been so long since I'd last seen Mrs. O'Leary. Reminding myself that it wasn't her, I lifted my sword, and right when it was about to pounce, I swung down, sending the hellhound to Tartarus. Brushing the monster dust off of my clothes, I ran down the path.

Right…left…right again…I really wished I knew where I was going. Twice I found myself facing dead ends. I turned back, took a left, and saw a weird orange mist floating in front of me. It was probably one of the spells the witches and wizards had to get through somehow. So, I walked through the mist, and like I thought, nothing happened.

This way was really long. I was still running down it when a scream shattered the silence.

It was a girl's scream. I knew it wasn't Reyna, because she would never scream, no matter what situation, so it had to be Fleur.

There was silence. I looked all around me. Her scream seemed to be up ahead. I kept on running down the long passageway. When I finally was free from the path, I met a junction of three packs and looked around for some sign of Fleur. What had she met? If it was a Greek monster she'd encountered, that would make sense, because she wouldn't be able to do anything…I took the middle fork and I couldn't help thinking: One champion down…

The cup was somewhere close by, and Fleur was probably out of the running. Honestly, I didn't want to win. That would just mean more fame and blah blah blah. I'd just entered to protect Harry, and I personally think someone else deserved it more. I'd barely done anything to get past the tasks. I would just let someone else take the cup if I got it.

I met nothing for ten minutes, but kept running into dead ends. I took the same wrong turning twice. Finally, I found a new route and started to jog along it, my sword-light waving, making my shadow flicker and distort on the hedge walls. Then I rounded another corner and found myself in a small opening, facing the back of a Laistrygonian Giant.

He was tending to a fire, and was wearing a white apron. A big pot was hanging over it. Reyna was tied up nearby, unconscious. She was his dinner.

"Daughter of Bellona. A praetor of Camp Jupiter. It has been long since I've feasted on a demigod of your caliber." His stomach rumbled. "You smell especially delici—I smell something. I smell…" He took a big sniff. I tried to hide, but he turned around, and grabbed me. He ripped Riptide out of my hands and threw it out of the maze. "I smell the sea! Son of Poseidon…An even better treat."

I needed Riptide to get past him. But it would take a while for it to return to my pocket. So, I started stalling. "I won't taste good. She won't either. I'll taste too salty. She'll be too tough."

The giant laughed, and let go of me. I fell to the ground and got a sore butt. "Nonsense. I've eaten a child of Aphrodite."

I could almost sympathize with him. Their cabin _stank. _But, I had some friends who were Aphrodite's kids who weren't all that bad. So, I didn't say anything about it.

"Do you like seaweed? My head's full of it," I commented. I know; I'm insulting myself. But, you gotta do what you gotta do.

"Seaweed? Delicious! A son of Poseidon is nothing without seaweed." I rolled my eyes.

"So, how are you going to cook us? If we're such good treats, you've got to cook us _perfectly._ Maybe you could serve us with some Laistrygonian thigh? I hear it's _very _delicious." He's a cannibal, right? He could eat himself. And, he would be easier to kill if he was hurt beforehand.

"Laistrygonian thigh…I've never had any."

"But, you can only get it in the US. You'll have to cut off your thigh for your feast." The giant looked at me warily. "Trust me, it'll be worth it! I heard it from a very reliable source." My imagination.

"It better be, Son of Poseidon." The giant picked up a carving knife that was lying in the grass next to him, and began separating his thigh from his body. He began to whimper in pain. I didn't watch, because it was gross, and because Riptide had returned to my pocket. Thankfully, he wasn't facing me. So, quietly, I tiptoed towards him, and stabbed him in the back. Screaming, he dissolved, and the monster dust was blown into the air. The only thing that was left of him was his thigh and his apron. Gross!

I walked over to Reyna, who was still tied up and unconscious. Looking at her, I realized Professor McGonagall hadn't said anything about what _we_ would do if we wanted to be fetched from the maze. I couldn't send up red sparks. So, I walked up to a hedge, broke off a loose branch, grabbed the apron, and tied it to the stick. I stuck the make-shift flag into the top of a hedge so that people could see it. Then, I ran out of the opening.

I took a right path and hit a dead end, so I took a right. I had been hurrying along the new path for a few minutes when I heard something in the path next to me that made me stop dead.

"What are you doing?" Cedric's voice yelled. "What the hell d'you think you're doing?"

And then I heard Krum's voice. "_Crucio_!"

The air was suddenly full of Cedric's yells. Horrified, I began sprinting up the path, trying to find a way into Cedric's. Even if I didn't really know him, I wouldn't just let him get tortured. When none appeared, I made myself a door to the next path; the branches and leaves falling to the ground; and looking to my right, saw Cedric jerking and twitching on the ground, Krum standing over him.

"_Stupefy_!" Krum yelled. Cedric stopped moving.

I was just about head-butt Krum with my sword when Harry appeared from a small hole in a hedge and pointed his wand at Krum just as Krum looked up. Krum turned and began to run, but he crashed into me.

"_Stupefy_!" Harry yelled.

The spell hit Krum in the back; he stopped dead in his tracks, fell forward (bringing me down with him), and lay motionless. Harry dashed over to Cedric, who was covered in sweat. I got up from under Krum and walked over to Harry.

"Do you think he's alright?" Harry said roughly, grabbing Cedric's arm. Harry checked his pulse. "He's alive."

"I can't believe this…I thought he was all right," Harry stared at Krum.

"So did I," I said.

"Did you hear Fleur scream earlier?" Harry said.

"Yeah," I replied. "You don't think Krum got her too?"

"I don't know," Harry said slowly.

"You probably should send up red sparks."

"Ok," Harry said. He raised his wand and shot a shower of red sparks into the air, which hovered high above Krum, marking the spot where he lay.

Me and Harry stood there in the darkness for a moment, looking around us. It didn't seem like a good idea to just stay here doing nothing, so I said, "We should keep going."

"What?" said Harry. "Oh…yeah…right…"

The two of us proceeded up the dark path without speaking, then Harry turned left, and I right. His footsteps soon died away.

I moved on. It was between me and Harry now. He would probably get there first, because I knew he was using a spell to get through the maze…But I seemed to be doing good. Every so often I hit more dead ends, but the increasing darkness made me feel sure I was getting near the heart of the maze. Then, as I strode down a long, straight path, I saw light ahead.

The Triwizard Cup was gleaming on a plinth a hundred yards away. Suddenly a dark figure hurtled out onto the path in front of me.

Harry was going to get there first. He was sprinting as fast as he could toward the cup, and even though I was taller and had longer legs, I didn't try. He definitely deserved it more than me. Then I saw something huge over a hedge to my left, moving quickly along a path that intersected with my own; it was moving so fast Harry was about to run into it, and Harry, his eyes on the cup, had not seen it –

"Harry!" I yelled. "On your left!"

Harry looked around just in time to hurl himself past the thing and avoid colliding with it. A gigantic spider stepped into the path and began to bear down upon Harry. It grabbed him off the ground, and its pincers sunk into his leg, tearing his robes.

I ran towards the spider, and I began hacking at its legs. It turned to face me, and tried to grab me, but I rolled away, and stabbed it in his underbelly. The spider screamed. It let go of Harry, who fell on his leg, which now began to bleed.

"Stupefy!" Harry yelled, and the spell hit where I'd stabbed him. The spider fell to the ground. I hurried to its frozen body, and hacked at it until monster dust flew into my face.

"Thanks, Percy!" Harry yelled. "You okay?

"Yes," I screamed back. "You?"

"My leg's been better, but I'm okay," Harry was standing feet from the Triwizard Cup, which was gleaming behind him.

"Take it, Harry," I told him. "Go on, take it. You're there."

But Harry didn't move. He just stood there, looking at me. Then he turned to stare at the cup. I saw the longing expression on his face in its golden light.

He looked around at me again, and took a deep breath.

"You take it. You should win. You just saved my neck in here."

"That's not how it's supposed to work," I said. "The one who reaches the cup first gets the points. That's you."

Harry took a few paces away from the cup, shaking his head. "No," he said.

"You deserve it more than me. You actually worked to get through all this," I said. "You told me about the drakons."

"I got help on the dragons. And the egg, and the gillyweed." Harry responded. "You didn't need any help."

"I won't take the cup." I said. "You should've got more points on the second task. You stayed behind to get all the hostages. I should've done that."

"I was the only one who was thick enough to take that song seriously!" said Harry bitterly. "Just take the cup!"

"No," I said.

"Then I won't either." Harry joined me in the path facing the cup.

"Well, someone has to take it. I know you want that cup. Why can't you just take it?" Harry looked from me to the cup. His eyes glistened.

"Both of us," Harry said.

"What?" I definitely hadn't expected that answer. Looking at his eyes, I knew he really wanted to win.

"We'll take it at the same time. Hogwarts and Camp Half-Blood will both win. We'll tie for it."

I stared at Harry. He seemed sure about it. But, I was going to make sure.

"Are you sure you want this?"

"Yeah," Harry said. "Yeah…we've helped each other out, haven't we? We both got here. Let's just take it together."

"Ok then," I said. "Come here."

I grabbed Harry's arm below the shoulder and helped him limp toward the plinth where the cup stood. When we had reached it, we both held a hand out over one of the cup's gleaming handles.

"On three, right?" said Harry. "One – two – three –"

Me and Harry both grasped a handle.

Instantly, I felt a jerk somewhere behind his navel. My feet had left the ground.

I couldn't let go of the Triwizard Cup; it was pulling me onward in a howl of wind and swirling color, Harry at my side.

* * *

**The 28th chapter is done! Dang, it's been a while. And yay, Cedric doesn't die :D (And Percy doesn't either; I could never do that to him).**

**The 29th chapter will be out on Friday or Saturday. Which day, I don't know, but I'm sure that I'll be able to type up a chapter. I hope you enjoyed the 28th chapter of the Godly TriWizard Tournament!**


	29. Chapter 29: We Fail Our Quest

Chapter 29: We Fail Our Quest

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, or Heroes of Olympus.**

Percy's POV:

My feet slammed into the ground and I fell back; my hand still gripped on the handle of the TriWizard Cup.

"Where are we?" Harry asked.

I shook my head. I had no idea where we were. I got up, pulled Harry (who'd also fallen) to his feet, and we looked around at our surroundings.

We'd left the Hogwarts grounds completely; we had obviously traveled miles – maybe even hundreds of miles – because even the mountains surrounding the castle were gone.

We were standing instead in a dark and overgrown graveyard; the black outline of a small church was visible beyond a large yew tree to our right. A hill rose above us to our left. I could just make out the outline of an old house on the hillside.

I looked down at the Triwizard Cup and then up at Harry.

"Was the cup supposed to bring us here?" I questioned him.

"I dunno," Harry replied. He sounded slightly nervous. "Weapons out, d'you reckon?"

"Good idea." We pulled out our weapons. I was getting the strange feeling that we were being watched again. Harry also seemed to be tense, and he kept looking around us. Suddenly, he said, "Someone's coming."

Squinting tensely through the darkness, we watched the figure drawing nearer, walking steadily toward us between the graves. I couldn't see their face, but from the way they was walking and holding their arms, I could tell that it was carrying something.

Whoever it was, he was short, and wearing a hooded cloak pulled up over his head to hide obscure his face. Was it really that ugly? And – several paces nearer, the gap between us closing all the time –I saw that the thing in the person's arms looked like a baby…or was it just a bundle of robes?

Harry lowered his wand slightly and glanced sideways at me. I shrugged. We both turned back to watch the approaching figure. It stopped beside a towering marble headstone, only six feet from us. For a second, me, Harry, and the short figure just looked at one another.

And then, without warning, Harry fell to his knees, his wand slipping from his fingers, and his hands over his face.

"Are you okay?!" I exclaimed. He didn't answer.

I heard a high, cold voice say, "Capture the demigod."

After a swishing noise and a second voice screeching some words, a net flew towards me, the impact crushing me into a marble headstone behind me. My sword and the cup fell to the ground. I was pinned. And I felt something that I hadn't felt in a long time: pain.

How was this possible? I had dipped in the River Styx for a second time. I was nearly invincible. Surprisingly, my Achilles Heel hadn't been touched when I was thrown against the rock. So, it was impossible for me to have gotten hurt. But, the impossible was happening.

It was the same feeling I'd gotten when Luke fought me on the Princess Andromeda sailing for the Sea of Monsters. Except now, my whole _body _felt like it was on fire. I hissed in pain.

Even though my eyes were now watering, I saw that the short man in the cloak had put down his bundle, lit his wand, and was dragging Harry toward the marble headstone. Then, he forced Harry around and slammed him against it.

The cloaked man was now conjuring tight cords around Harry, tying him from neck to ankles to the headstone. Harry could hear shallow, fast breathing from the depths of the hood; he struggled, and the man hit him – hit him with a hand that had a finger missing. And Harry realized who was under the hood.

"You!" he gasped. "Wormtail!"

But Wormtail, who had finished conjuring the ropes, did not reply; he was busy checking the tightness of the cords, his fingers trembling uncontrollably, rumbling over the knots. Once sure that Harry was bound so tightly to the headstone that he couldn't move an inch, Wormtail got out a piece of some black material from the inside of his cloak and stuffed it roughly into Harry's mouth; then, without a word, he turned from Harry and hurried away.

Harry looked at me worriedly.

"Don't worry about me. I'm just the demigod. Whoever it is wants _you_." But who were they?

On the ground, near Harry, was the baby (or just a bundle of ropes). Seeing how much it was moving, it seemed like it was waking up uneasily.

I heard noises. I looked down and saw a gigantic snake slithering through the grass, circling the headstone where Harry was tied. Wormtail's fast, wheezy breathing was growing louder again. He was dragging a stone cauldron across the ground. When he appeared in my line of sight, I saw him pushing the stone cauldron to the foot of the grave. It was full of some mystery liquid and it was larger than any cauldron in Snape's dungeon; an enormous stone bowl large enough for a male adult to sit in.

The thing inside the bundle of robes on the ground was stirring more persistently, like it was trying to get out of its clothes. Now Wormtail was busying himself at the bottom of the cauldron with a wand. Suddenly there were crackling names beneath it. The large snake slithered away into the darkness.

The liquid heated up very quickly. The surface began not only to bubble, but to send out fiery sparks, like it were on fire. Steam was thickening, blurring the outline of Wormtail tending the fire. The movements beneath the robes became more agitated. And I heard the high, cold voice again.

"Hurry!"

The cauldron was brimming with sparks now.

"It is ready, Master." The cold voice replied, "Now…"

Wormtail pulled open the robes on the ground, revealing what was inside them, and me and Harry both yelled. Instantly I regretted it, because the net's ropes dug into my skin.

But, I couldn't help yelling. The thing was _really _ugly and disgusting. It had the shape of a crouched human child, but then it looked nothing like a baby. It was hairless and scaly-looking, a dark, raw, reddish black. Its arms and legs were thin and weak, and its face – no child alive ever had a face like that – flat and snakelike, with gleaming red eyes.

The thing seemed almost helpless; it raised its thin arms, put them around Wormtail's neck, and Wormtail lifted it. As he did so, his hood fell back, and I saw the look of disgust on Wormtail's weak, pale face in the firelight as he carried the creature to the rim of the cauldron. For one moment, I saw the evil, flat face illuminated in the sparks dancing on the surface of the potion. And then Wormtail lowered the creature into the cauldron; there was a hiss, and it vanished below the surface.

Wormtail was speaking. His voice shook; he seemed frightened beyond his wits. He raised his wand, closed his eyes, and spoke to the night.

"Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son!"

The surface of the grave at Harry's feet cracked. I had no idea what was happening, but horrified, I watched as a fine trickle of dust rose into the air at Wormtail's command and fell softly into the cauldron. The surface of the water broke and hissed; it sent sparks in all directions and turned a vivid, poisonous-looking blue.

And now Wormtail was whimpering. He pulled a long, thin, shining silver dagger from inside his cloak. His voice broke into petrified sobs.

"Flesh – of the servant – w-willingly given – you will – revive – your master."

He stretched his right hand out in front of him – the hand with the missing finger. He gripped the dagger very tightly in his left hand and swung it upward.

Oh my gods. Wormtail swung the silver dagger down, and the weapon slashed through his hand, and blood sprayed onto him. The hand fell to the ground, and panting anguishly, Wormtail picked up his severed hand and dropped it into the cauldron. The potion turned a burning red.

Wormtail was gasping and moaning with agony as he walked over to Harry.

"B-blood of the enemy…forcibly taken…you will…resurrect your foe."

I could do nothing to prevent it, I was tied too tightly…Staring, struggling hopelessly (really dumb idea) at the ropes binding me, I saw the shining silver dagger shaking in Wormtail's remaining hand. The dagger's point dug into the crook of his right arm and blood seeped down the sleeve of his torn robes. Wormtail, still panting with pain, rumbled in his pocket for a glass vial and held it to Harry's cut, so that a dribble of blood fell into it.

He staggered back to the cauldron with Harry's blood and poured it inside. The liquid instantly turned a blinding white. Wormtail, his job done, dropped to his knees beside the cauldron, then slumped sideways and lay on the ground, cradling the bleeding stump of his arm, whimpering and sobbing. I would feel bad for him, because cutting off your arm would r_eally _hurt, but he'd gotten me trapped into this net so I just watched him.

The cauldron was simmering, sending its sparks in all directions, so blindingly bright that it turned all else to velvety blackness. Nothing happened…

Maybe it drowned? I wondered hopefully.

And then, suddenly, the sparks emanating from the cauldron were extinguished. A surge of white steam billowed thickly from the cauldron instead, obliterating everything in the area, so that I couldn't see Wormtail or Harry or anything but vapor hanging in the air…

It's gone wrong, I thought. The potion failed. I had no idea who was resurrecting, but this obviously wasn't good.

But then, through the mist in front of me, I saw, with an icy surge of terror, the dark outline of a man, tall and skeletally thin, rising slowly from inside the cauldron.

"Robe me," the high, cold voice commanded from behind the steam, and Wormtail, sobbing and moaning, still cradling his mutilated arm, scrambled to pick up the black robes from the ground, got to his feet, reached up, and pulled them one-handed over his master's head.

The thin man stepped out of the cauldron, staring at Harry…and Harry stared back into the face that had haunted his nightmares for three years (Dumbledore told us a _lot_). Whiter than a skull, with wide, livid scarlet eyes and a nose that was flat as a snake's with slits for nostrils…

Lord Voldemort had risen again.

* * *

**The 29th chapter is here! I'm glad I got it out today :D **

**The 30th chapter will probably be out on Monday, but I'm not sure about it. Fingers crossed that I can! I hope you enjoyed the 29th chapter of the Godly TriWizard Tournament!**


	30. Chapter 30: Like Father, Like Son

Chapter 30: Like Father, Like Son

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus.**

Percy's POV:

Honestly, everything that happened after that was fuzzy for me. The ropes had begun to dig into my skin, so I started bleeding all over, and the pain had started to become overbearing, which was all that I could think of. I just knew that Voldemort summoned his Death Eaters (seriously, who would eat Thanatos?), Voldemort and Harry had a duel, and when Voldemort was distracted, Harry escaped and brought us back to the grounds of Hogwarts.

Now, me and Harry were sprawled on the ground, and Dumbledore was hovering over us. The crowd going wild, yelling our names, and I could feel how heavily soaked my clothes were with blood.

"He's back," Harry murmured. "He's back. Voldemort."

"What's going on? What's happened?"

The face of the Minister of Magic appeared upside down over me and Harry; it looked white, appalled.

"My God – Jackson!" Cornelius Fudge whispered. "He's going to bleed to death!"

Dumbledore bent down, raised Harry from the ground and set him on his feet. Fudge held out a hand to me and I gripped it, pulling myself up. The crowd around us fought to get closer, pressing in on us – "What happened?" "What's wrong with them?" "Percy Jackson's soaked in blood!"

"They'll need to go to the hospital wing!" Fudge said loudly. "They're ill, they're injured. I'll take them, Dumbledore, I'll take them –"

"No, I would prefer –"

"I'll take them, Dumbledore," a gruff voice said. Mad-Eye Moody. Only his voice was that rough.

"One moment," Dumbledore replied.

Dumbledore summoned a cube of ambrosia and gave it to me to eat. The pain kinda subsided and my cuts healed. Then, he magiked the blood off of my clothes and body. Now, I wouldn't be dripping with blood. His job done, the headmaster stepped back. If only he'd fixed my clothes, I thought. They were in shreds. Dumbledore beckoned for Moody to bring us to the hospital wing, and as he turned, I could see the old man giving Moody a strange look.

Moody started half pulling, half carrying Harry through the frightened crowd. I guess I didn't look injured enough for him to need to carry me. I heard people gasping, screaming, and shouting as he pushed a path through us, taking us back to the castle. Across the lawn, past the lake and the Durmstrang ship, I heard nothing but the heavy breathing of Mad-Eye Moody.

"What happened, Harry?" Moody asked at last as he lifted Harry up the stone steps. I don't know why he specifically asked Harry, but whaaaateverrrr.

Clunk. Clunk. Clunk. His leg made such loud noises.

"Cup was a Portkey," Harry said as we crossed the entrance hall. "Took me and Cedric to a graveyard . . . and Voldemort was there…Lord Voldemort..."

"The Dark Lord was there? What happened then?"

"Captured Percy…they captured Percy." Thanks Harry. _Thanks._

"And then?"

Clunk. Clunk. Clunk. Up the marble stairs…

"Made a potion…got his body back…"

"The Dark Lord got his body back? He's returned?"

"And the Death Eaters came…and then we dueled..."

Clunk. Clunk. Clunk. Down the corridor…

"You dueled with the Dark Lord?"

"Got away…my wand…did something funny… I saw my mum and dad…they came out of his wand..."

"In here, you two. In here, and sit down…You'll be all right now…drink this..."

Moody locked the door behind us and pushed a cup filled with some liquid into Harry's hands.

"Drink it... you'll feel better…come on, now. Harry, I need to know exactly what happened..."

Moody helped tip the stuff down Harry's throat and he coughed. Since he didn't give any to me, I guess it was a potion. Moody looked as white as Fudge, and both eyes were fixed unblinkingly upon Harry's face.

"Voldemort's back, Harry? You're sure he's back? How did he do it?"

"He took stuff from his father's grave, and from Wormtail, and me," said Harry.

"What did the Dark Lord take from you?" said Moody.

"Blood," said Harry, raising his arm. His sleeve was ripped where Wormtail's dagger had torn it.

Moody let out his breath in a long, low hiss.

"And the Death Eaters? They returned?"

"Yes," said Harry. "Loads of them . . ."

"How did he treat them?" Moody asked quietly. "Did he forgive them?"

But Harry suddenly started exclaiming, "There's a Death Eater at Hogwarts! There's a Death Eater here – they put my name in the Goblet of Fire, they made sure I got through to the end –"

Harry tried to get up, but Moody pushed him back down.

"I know who the Death Eater is," he said quietly. He did?!

"Karkaroff?" said Harry wildly. "Where is he? Have you got him? Is he locked up?""Karkaroff?" Moody let out a strange laugh. "Karkaroff fled tonight, when he felt the Dark Mark burn upon his arm. He betrayed too many faithful supporters of the Dark Lord to wish to meet them…but I doubt he will get far. The Dark Lord has ways of tracking his enemies." How did he know so much? I wondered. Did Aurors have that much information on Voldemort?

"Karkaroff's gone? He ran away? But then – he didn't put my name in the goblet?"

"No," said Moody slowly. "No, he didn't. It was I who did that." You're kidding me. Moody was the Death Eater.

"No, you didn't," Harry denied. "You didn't do that…you can't have done..."

"I assure you I did," said Moody, and his magical eye swung around and fixed upon the door, and I knew he was making sure that there was no one outside it. At the same time, Moody drew out his wand and pointed it at Harry. I put my hand on the pocket Riptide was in.

"He forgave them, then?" he said. "The Death Eaters who went free? The ones who escaped Azkaban?"

"What?" said Harry. He was looking at the wand Moody was pointing at him. I could tell that he really didn't want to believe what his teacher was saying.

"I asked you," said Moody quietly, "whether he forgave the scum who never even went to look for him. Those treacherous cowards who wouldn't even brave Azkaban for him. The faithless, worthless bits of filth who were brave enough to cavort in masks at the Quidditch World Cup, but fled at the sight of the Dark Mark when I fired it into the sky."

"You fired…What are you talking about…?"

"I told you, Harry…I told you. If there's one thing I hate more than any other, it's a Death Eater who walked free. They turned their backs on my master when he needed them most. I expected him to punish them. I expected him to torture them. Tell me he hurt them, Harry…" Moody's face was suddenly lit with an insane smile. "Tell me he told them that I, I alone remained faithful... prepared to risk everything to deliver to him the one thing he wanted above all... you."

"You didn't... it – it can't be you..."

"Who put your name in the Goblet of Fire, under the name of a different school? I did. Who frightened off every person I thought might try to hurt you or prevent you from winning the tournament? I did. Who nudged Hagrid into showing you the dragons? I did. Who helped you see the only way you could beat the dragon? I did." He did a lot of things.

Moody's magical eye had now left the door. It was fixed upon Harry. His lopsided mouth leered more widely than ever.

"It hasn't been easy, Harry, guiding you through these tasks without arousing suspicion. I have had to use every ounce of cunning I possess, so that my hand would not be detectable in your success. Dumbledore would have been very suspicious if you had managed everything too easily. As long as you got into that maze, preferably with a decent head start – then, I knew, I would have a chance of getting rid of the other champions and leaving your way clear. But I also had to contend with your stupidity. The second task…that was when I was most afraid we would fail. I was keeping watch on you, Potter. I knew you hadn't worked out the egg's clue, so I had to give you another hint –"

"You didn't," Harry said hoarsely. "Cedric gave me the clue -"

"Who told Cedric to open it underwater? I did. I trusted that he would pass the information on to you. Decent people are so easy to manipulate, Potter. I was sure Cedric would want to repay you for telling him about the dragons, and so he did. But even then, Potter, even then you seemed likely to fail. I was watching all the time…all those hours in the library." Stalker much?

"Didn't you realize that the book you needed was in your dormitory all along? I planted it there early on, I gave it to the Longbottom boy, don't you remember? Magical Water Plants of the Mediterranean. It would have told you all you needed to know about gillyweed. I expected you to ask everyone and anyone you could for help. Longbottom would have told you in an instant. But you did not…you did not…You have a streak of pride and independence that might have ruined all. So what could I do? Feed you information from another innocent source. You told me at the Yule Ball a house-elf called Dobby had given you a Christmas present. I called the elf to the staffroom to collect some robes for cleaning. I staged a loud conversation with Professor McGonagall about the hostages who had been taken, and whether Potter would think to use gillyweed. And your little elf friend ran straight to Snape's office and then hurried to find you..."

Moody's wand was still pointing directly at Harry's heart. Over his shoulder, foggy shapes were moving in one of Moody's gadgets on the wall.

"You were so long in that lake, Potter, I thought you had drowned. But luckily, Dumbledore took your idiocy for nobility, and marked you high for it. I breathed again." If only he hadn't.

"You had an easier time of it than you should have in that maze tonight, of course," said Moody. "I was patrolling around it, able to see through the outer hedges, able to curse many obstacles out of your way. I Stunned Fleur Delacour as she passed. I put the Imperius Curse on Krum, so that he would finish Diggory and leave your path to the cup clear. I did not curse Jackson. But, I knew he would not take the cup. So, I did nothing."

Harry stared at Moody.

"When I had heard that demigods were to be entering, the Dark Lord commanded me to watch them." Moody beckoned to me. "They could get in the way of his return. But, we didn't need to worry. The demigods did not suspect me. Our plan was still perfect."

The foggy shapes in the gadget were sharpening, had become clearer. I could see the outlines of three people over Moody's shoulder, moving closer and closer. But Moody wasn't watching them. His magical eye was upon Harry.

"The Dark Lord didn't manage to kill you. Potter, and he so wanted to," whispered Moody. "Imagine how he will reward me when he finds I have done it for him. I gave you to him – the thing he needed above all to regenerate – and then I killed you for him. I will be honored beyond all other Death Eaters. I will be his dearest, his closest supporter…closer than a son..."

Moody's normal eye was bulging, the magical eye fixed upon Harry. I took Riptide out of my pocket, and gripped it in my hand. No use hiding it, Moody could probably see right through.

"The Dark Lord and I," said Moody, and he looked completely insane now, towering over Harry, leering down at him, "have much in common. Both of us, for instance, had very disappointing fathers…very disappointing indeed. Both of us suffered the indignity, Harry, of being named after those fathers. And both of us had the pleasure…the very great pleasure ... of killing our fathers to ensure the continued rise of the Dark Order!" Hey, look! It's Kronos all over again.

"You're mad," Harry exclaimed, "you're mad!"

"Mad, am I?" said Moody, his voice rising uncontrollably. "We'll see! We'll see who's mad, now that the Dark Lord has returned, with me at his side! He is back, Harry Potter, you did not conquer him – and now – I conquer you!"

Moody raised his wand, he opened his mouth; Harry plunged his own hand into his robes; I uncapped Riptide, ready to block his spell –

"Stupefy!" There was a blinding flash of red light, and with a great splintering and crashing, the door of Moody's office was blasted apart – Moody was thrown backward onto the office floor. The two of us, still staring at the place where Moody's face had been, saw Albus Dumbledore, Professor Snape, and Professor McGonagall looking back at us out of the Foe-Glass. We looked around and saw the three of them standing in the doorway, Dumbledore in front, his wand outstretched.

At that moment, I understood for the first time why people said Dumbledore was the only wizard Voldemort had ever feared. The look upon Dumbledore's face as he stared down at the unconscious form of Mad-Eye Moody was more terrible than Harry could have ever imagined. There was no benign smile upon Dumbledore's face, no twinkle in the eyes behind the spectacles. There was cold fury in every line of the ancient face; a sense of power radiated from Dumbledore as though he were giving off burning heat. Almost like a god's.

He stepped into the office, placed a foot underneath Moody's unconscious body, and kicked him over onto his back, so that his face was visible. Snape followed him, looking into the Foe-Glass, where his own face was still visible, glaring into the room. Professor McGonagall went straight to Harry.

"Come along, Harry," she whispered. The thin line of her mouth was twitching as though she was about to cry. "Come along…hospital wing..."

"No," said Dumbledore sharply.

"Dumbledore, he ought to – look at him – he's been through enough tonight –"

"He will stay, Minerva, because he needs to understand," said Dumbledore curtly. "Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery. He needs to know who has put him through the ordeal he has suffered tonight, and why."

"Moody," Harry muttered. He was still in a state of complete disbelief. "How can it have been Moody?"

"This is not Alastor Moody," Dumbledore said quietly. "You have never known Alastor Moody. The real Moody would not have removed the two of you from my sight after what happened tonight. The moment he took you two, I knew – and I followed."

Dumbledore bent down over Moody's limp form and put a hand inside his robes. He pulled out Moody's hip flask and a set of keys on a ring. Then he turned to Professors McGonagall and Snape.

"Severus, please fetch me the strongest Truth Potion you possess, and then go down to the kitchens and bring up the house-elf called Winky. Minerva, kindly go down to Hagrid's house, where you will find a large black dog sitting in the pumpkin patch. Take the dog up to my office, tell him I will be with him shortly, then come back here."

If either Snape or McGonagall found these instructions weird, they hid their confusion. Both turned at once and left the office. Dumbledore walked over to the trunk with seven locks, fitted the first key in the lock, and opened it. It contained a mass of spell-books. Dumbledore closed the trunk, placed a second key in the second lock, and opened the trunk again. The spellbooks had vanished; this time it contained an assortment of broken gadgets, some parchment and quills, and what looked like a silvery cloak. We watched, amazed, as Dumbledore placed the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth keys in their respective locks, reopening the trunk each time, and revealing different stuff each time. Then he placed the seventh key in the lock, threw open the lid, and Harry let out a cry of amazement.

We was looking down into a kind of pit, an underground room, and lying on the floor some ten feet below, apparently fast asleep, thin and starved in appearance, was the real Mad-Eye Moody. His wooden leg was gone, the socket that should have held the magical eye looked empty beneath its lid, and chunks of his grizzled hair were missing. We stared, thunderstruck, between the sleeping Moody in the trunk and the unconscious Moody lying on the floor of the office.

Dumbledore climbed into the trunk, lowered himself, and fell lightly onto the floor beside the sleeping Moody. He bent over him.

"Stunned – controlled by the Imperius Curse – very weak," he commented. "Of course, they would have needed to keep him alive. Percy, throw down the imposter's cloak – he's freezing. Madam Pomfrey will need to see him, but he seems in no immediate danger."

I did as I was told; Dumbledore covered Moody in the cloak, tucked it around him, and clambered out of the trunk again. Then he picked up the hip flask that stood upon the desk, unscrewed it, and turned it over. A thick liquid splattered onto the office floor.

"Polyjuice Potion, Harry," said Dumbledore. "You see the simplicity of it, and the brilliance. For Moody never does drink except from his hip flask, he's well known for it. The imposter needed, of course, to keep the real Moody close by, so that he could continue making the potion. You see his hair..." Dumbledore looked down on the Moody in the trunk. "The imposter has been cutting it off all year, see where it is uneven? But I think, in the excitement of tonight, our fake Moody might have forgotten to take it as frequently as he should have done…on the hour…every hour…We shall see."

Dumbledore pulled out the chair at the desk and sat down upon it, his eyes fixed upon the unconscious Moody on the floor. The two stared at him too. Minutes passed in silence, and my ADHD was starting to go crazy when, before my very eyes, the face of the man on the floor began to change. The scars were disappearing, the skin was becoming smooth; the mangled nose became whole and started to shrink. The long mane of grizzled gray hair was withdrawing into the scalp and turning the color of straw. Suddenly, with a loud clunk, the wooden leg fell away as a normal leg regrew in its place; next moment, the magical eyeball had popped out of the man's face as a real eye replaced it; it rolled away across the floor and continued to swivel in every direction.

I saw a man lying before him, pale-skinned, slightly freckled, with a mop of fair hair. I knew who he was. Me and Harry had seen him in Dumbledore's Pensieve, had watched him being led away from court by the dementors, trying to convince Mr. Crouch that he was innocent…but he was lined around the eyes now and looked way older…

There were hurried footsteps outside in the corridor. Snape had returned with Winky at his heels. Professor McGonagall was right behind them.

"Crouch!" Snape said, stopping dead in the doorway. "Barty Crouch!"

"Good heavens," said Professor McGonagall, stopping dead and staring down at the man on the floor.

Filthy, disheveled, an elf who I guessed was Winky peered around Snape's legs. Her mouth opened wide and she let out a piercing shriek.

"Master Barty, Master Barty, what is you doing here?"

She flung herself forward onto the young man's chest. "You is killed him! You is killed him! You is killed Master's son!"

"He is simply Stunned, Winky," said Dumbledore. "Step aside, please. Severus, you have the potion?"

Snape handed Dumbledore a small glass bottle of completely clear liquid. Dumbledore got up, bent over the man on the floor, and pulled him into a sitting position against the wall beneath the Foe-Glass, in which the reflections of Dumbledore, Snape, and McGonagall were still glaring down upon them all. Winky remained on her knees, trembling, her hands over her face. Dumbledore forced the man's mouth open and poured three drops inside it. Then he pointed his wand at the man's chest and said, "Ennervate."

Crouch's son opened his eyes. His face was slack, his gaze unfocused. Dumbledore knelt before him, so that their faces were level.

"Can you hear me?" Dumbledore asked quietly.

The man's eyelids flickered. "Yes," he muttered.

"I would like you to tell us," said Dumbledore softly, "how you came to be here. How did you escape from Azkaban?"

Crouch took a deep, shuddering breath, then began to speak in a flat, expressionless voice.

"My mother saved me. She knew she was dying. She persuaded my father to rescue me as a last favor to her. He loved her as he had never loved me. He agreed. They came to visit me. They gave me a draft of Polyjuice Potion containing one of my mother's hairs. She took a draft of Polyjuice Potion containing one of my hairs. We took on each other's appearance."

Winky was shaking her head, trembling.

"Say no more. Master Barty, say no more, you is getting your father into trouble!"

But Crouch took another deep breath and continued in the same flat voice.

"The dementors are blind. They sensed one healthy, one dying person entering Azkaban.

They sensed one healthy, one dying person leaving it. My father smuggled me out, disguised as my mother, in case any prisoners were watching through their doors. My mother died a short while afterward in Azkaban. She was careful to drink Polyjuice Potion until the end. She was buried under my name and bearing my appearance. Everyone believed her to be me." The man's eyelids flickered.

"And what did your father do with you, when he had got you home?" said Dumbledore quietly.

"Staged my mother's death. A quiet, private funeral. That grave is empty. The house-elf nursed me back to health. Then I had to be concealed. I had to be controlled.

My father had to use a number of spells to subdue me. When I had recovered my strength, I thought only of finding my master…of returning to his service."

"How did your father subdue you?" said Dumbledore.

"The Imperius Curse," Moody said. "I was under my father's control. I was forced to wear an Invisibility Cloak day and night. I was always with the house-elf. She was my keeper and caretaker. She pitied me. She persuaded my father to give me occasional treats. Rewards for my good behavior."

"Master Barty, Master Barty," sobbed Winky through her hands. "You isn't ought to tell them, we is getting in trouble..." It's a good thing we didn't have this stuff at home. Travis and Conner would be _toast_.

"Did anybody ever discover that you were still alive?" said Dumbledore softly. "Did anyone know except your father and the house-elf?"

"Yes," said Crouch, his eyelids flickering again. "A witch in my father's office. Bertha Jorkins. She came to the house with papers for my father s signature. He was not at home. Winky showed her inside and returned to the kitchen, to me. But Bertha Jorkins heard Winky talking to me. She came to investigate. She heard enough to guess who was hiding under the Invisibility Cloak. My father arrived home. She confronted him. He put a very powerful Memory Charm on her to make her forget what she'd found out. Too powerful. He said it damaged her memory permanently."

"Why is she coming to nose into my master's private business?" sobbed Winky. "Why isn't she leaving us be?"

"Tell me about the Quidditch World Cup," said Dumbledore.

"Winky talked my father into it," said Crouch, still in the same monotonous voice. "She spent months persuading him. I had not left the house for years. I had loved Quidditch. Let him go, she said. He will be in his Invisibility Cloak. He can watch. Let him smell fresh air for once. She said my mother would have wanted it. She told my father that my mother had died to give me freedom. She had not saved me for a life of imprisonment. He agreed in the end."

"It was carefully planned. My father led me and Winky up to the Top Box early in the day. Winky was to say that she was saving a seat for my father. I was to sit there, invisible. When everyone had left the box, we would emerge. Winky would appear to be alone. Nobody would ever know."

"But Winky didn't know that I was growing stronger. I was starting to fight my father's Imperius Curse." Of course that would happen. "There were times when I was almost myself again. There were brief periods when I seemed outside his control. It happened, there, in the Top Box. It was like waking from a deep sleep. I found myself out in public, in the middle of the match, and I saw, in front of me, a wand sticking out of a boy's pocket. I had not been allowed a wand since before Azkaban. I stole it. Winky didn't know. Winky is frightened of heights. She had her face hidden."

"Master Barty, you bad boy!" whispered Winky, tears trickling between her fingers.

"So you took the wand," said Dumbledore, "and what did you do with it?"

"We went back to the tent," said Crouch. "Then we heard them. We heard the Death Eaters. The ones who had never been to Azkaban. The ones who had never suffered for my master. They had turned their backs on him. They were not enslaved, as I was. They were free to seek him, but they did not. They were merely making sport of Muggles. The sound of their voices awoke me. My mind was clearer than it had been in years. I was angry. I had the wand. I wanted to attack them for their disloyalty to my master. My father had left the tent; he had gone to free the Muggles. Winky was afraid to see me so angry. She used her own brand of magic to bind me to her. She pulled me from the tent, pulled me into the forest, away from the Death Eaters. I tried to hold her back. I wanted to return to the campsite. I wanted to show those Death Eaters what loyalty to the Dark Lord meant, and to punish them for their lack of it. I used the stolen wand to cast the Dark Mark into the sky."

"Ministry wizards arrived. They shot Stunning Spells everywhere. One of the spells came through the trees where Winky and I stood. The bond connecting us was broken. We were both Stunned. When Winky was discovered, my father knew I must be nearby. He searched the bushes where she had been found and felt me lying there. He waited until the other Ministry members had left the forest. He put me back under the Imperius Curse and took me home. He dismissed Winky. She had failed him. She had let me acquire a wand. She had almost let me escape."

Winky let out a wail of despair. She sure cried loudly.

"Now it was just Father and I, alone in the house. And then…and then…."

Crouch's head rolled on his neck, and an insane grin spread across his face. "My master came for me. He arrived at our house late one night in the arms of his servant Wormtail. My master had found out that I was still alive. He had captured Bertha Jorkins in Albania. He had tortured her. She told him a great deal. She told him about the Triwizard Tournament."

"She told him the old Auror, Moody, was going to teach at Hogwarts. He tortured her until he broke through the Memory Charm my father had placed upon her. She told him I had escaped from Azkaban. She told him my father kept me imprisoned to prevent me from seeking my master. And so my master knew that I was still his faithful servant – perhaps the most faithful of all. My master conceived a plan, based upon the information Bertha had given him. He needed me. He arrived at our house near midnight. My father answered the door."

The smile spread wider over Crouch's face, as though recalling the sweetest memory of his life. He was looking really crazy right now. Just like his father. Like father, like son, right?

"It was very quick. My father was placed under the Imperius Curse by my master. Now my father was the one imprisoned, controlled. My master forced him to go about his business as usual, to act as though nothing was wrong. And I was released. I awoke. I was myself again, alive as I hadn't been in years."

"And what did Lord Voldemort ask you to do?" said Dumbledore.

"He asked me whether I was ready to risk everything for him. I was ready. It was my dream, my greatest ambition, to serve him, to prove myself to him. He told me he needed to place a faithful servant at Hogwarts. A servant who would guide Harry Potter through the Triwizard Tournament without appearing to do so. A servant who would watch over Harry Potter. Ensure he reached the Triwizard Cup. Turn the cup into a Portkey, which would take the first person to touch it to my master. But first -"

"You needed Alastor Moody," said Dumbledore. His blue eyes were blazing, though his voice remained calm.

"Wormtail and I did it. We had prepared the Polyjuice Potion beforehand. We journeyed to his house. Moody put up a struggle. There was a commotion. We managed to subdue him just in time. Forced him into a compartment of his own magical trunk. Took some of his hair and added it to the potion. I drank it; I became Moody's double. I took his leg and his eye. I was ready to face Arthur Weasley when he arrived to sort out the Muggles who had heard a disturbance. I made the dustbins move around the yard. I told Arthur Weasley I had heard intruders in my yard, who had set off the dustbins. Then I packed up Moody's clothes and Dark detectors, put them in the trunk with Moody, and set off for Hogwarts. I kept him alive, under the Imperius Curse. I wanted to be able to question him. To find out about his past, learn his habits, so that I could fool even Dumbledore. I also needed his hair to make the Polyjuice Potion. The other ingredients were easy. I stole boom-slang skin from the dungeons. When the Potions master found me in his office, I said I was under orders to search it."

"And what became of Wormtail after you attacked Moody?" said Dumbledore.

"Wormtail returned to care for my master, in my father's house, and to keep watch over my father."

"But your father escaped," said Dumbledore.

"Yes. After a while he began to fight the Imperius Curse just as I had done. There were periods when he knew what was happening. My master decided it was no longer safe for my father to leave the house. He forced him to send letters to the Ministry instead. He made him write and say he was ill. But Wormtail neglected his duty. He was not watchful enough. My father escaped. My master guessed that he was heading for Hogwarts. My father was going to tell Dumbledore everything, to confess. He was going to admit that he had smuggled me from Azkaban. My master sent me word of my father's escape. He told me to stop him at all costs. So I waited and watched. I used the map I had taken from Harry Potter. The map that had almost ruined everything."

"Map?" said Dumbledore quickly. "What map is this?"

"Potter's map of Hogwarts. Potter saw me on it. Potter saw me stealing more ingredients for the Polyjuice Potion from Snape's office one night. He thought I was my father. We have the same first name. I took the map from Potter that night. I told him my father hated Dark wizards. Potter believed my father was after Snape. For a week I waited for my father to arrive at Hogwarts. At last, one evening, the map showed my father entering the grounds. I pulled on my Invisibility Cloak and went down to meet him. He was walking around the edge of the forest. Then Potter and Krum, then Jackson. I waited. I could not hurt Potter; my master needed him. Potter ran to get Dumbledore. Jackson appeared, and out of surprise, my father Stunned Krum. I could not hurt Jackson. My father ran off, and I killed him."

"Noooo!" wailed Winky. "Master Barty, Master Barty, what is you saying?"

"You killed your father," Dumbledore said, in the same soft voice. "What did you do with the body?"

"Carried it into the forest. Covered it with the Invisibility Cloak. I had the map with me. I watched Potter run into the castle. He met Snape. Dumbledore joined them. I watched Potter bringing Dumbledore out of the castle. I walked back out of the forest, doubled around behind them, went to meet them. I told Dumbledore Snape had told me where to come.

"Dumbledore told me to go and look for my father. I went back to my father's body. Watched the map. When everyone was gone, I Transfigured my father's body. He became a bone…I buried it, while wearing the Invisibility Cloak, in the freshly dug earth in front of Hagrid's cabin."

There was complete silence now, except for Winky's continued sobs. Then Dumbledore said, "And tonight..."

"I offered to carry the Triwizard Cup into the maze before dinner," whispered Barty Crouch. "Turned it into a Portkey. My master's plan worked. He is returned to power and I will be honored by him beyond the dreams of wizards."

The insane smile lit his face once more, and his head drooped onto his shoulder as Winky wailed and sobbed at his side.

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**So, the 30th chapter is finished! I'm glad that it was long, because the recent chapters were pretty short, right?**

**The 31st chapter will be (hopefully) out on Thursday! I hope you enjoyed the 30th chapter of the Godly TriWizard Tournament!**


	31. Chapter 31: Farewell, Hogwarts

Chapter 31: Farewell, Hogwarts

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, or Heroes of Olympus.**

Percy's POV:

Right after Crouch's confession, I remembered falling forward, and strong arms catching me. When I woke up, I was in the hospital wing, and by my bed was Annabeth. She had bags under her bloodshot eyes, like she hadn't slept for days.

"Percy! You're awake!" Annabeth wrapped her arms around me.

"Where's my parents?" I asked, breathing in her scent.

"They had to go home," she answered. "The tournament ended, so they had to leave with all the other parents."

I nodded, understanding, but I was a bit disappointed. "Have you been sleeping? Your eyes are bloodshot, and they have bags under them."

"A bit." She claimed. I knew she was lying. It was pretty obvious. So, I decided that I would force her to sleep for at least a day to make up for her lack of sleep when we went back home. She wouldn't be able to do anything without any energy. "I wanted to be here when you woke up."

"How long have I been out?" I questioned her.

"A week," Annabeth responded. A week?! Dang! I guess the Curse of Achilles was as off-guard as I was when the pain started. And, today was the last day! "Do you feel better?"

I didn't feel any pain. So, I exclaimed, "Yep," and kissed Annabeth on the lips. She happily responded.

The doors swung open, and in the doorway was Professor McGonagall. We broke apart.

"Good, Jackson," She said, "You are awake. Madam Pomfrey, may Jackson go to the Leaving Feast?"

"Yes, Professor," Madam Pomfrey replied. "You may go, Jackson."

I got up from the hospital bed, and me and Annabeth followed Professor McGonagall out of the hospital wing to the Great Hall. When we entered it, we saw at once that the drapes behind the teachers' table were either red, yellow, blue and green or orange, symbolizing the tie between Hogwarts and Camp Half-Blood.

Professor Dumbledore stood up at the staff table. The Great Hall became very quiet.

"The end," said Dumbledore, looking around at them all, "of another year."

"The Ministry of Magic," Dumbledore continued, "does not wish me to tell you this. It is possible that some of your parents will be horrified that I have done so – either because they will not believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, or because they think I should not tell you so, young as you are. It is my belief, however, that the truth is generally preferable to lies."

"There is somebody else who must be mentioned in connection with Lord Voldemort's return," Dumbledore went on. "I am talking, of course, about Harry Potter."

A kind of ripple crossed the Great Hall as a few heads turned in Harry's direction before flicking back to face Dumbledore.

"Harry Potter managed to escape Lord Voldemort," said Dumbledore. "He showed, in every respect, the sort of bravery that few wizards have ever shown in facing Lord Voldemort, and for this, I honor him."

Dumbledore turned to Harry, and raised his goblet. Mostly everyone in the Great Hall followed suit. They murmured his name, and drank to him. But through a gap in the standing figures, I noticed that Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and many of the other Slytherins had remained defiantly in their seats, their goblets untouched. Dumbledore, who did not possess a magical eye, did not see them.

When everyone had once again resumed their seats, Dumbledore continued, "The Godly Triwizard Tournament's aim was to further and promote magical understanding. In the light of what has happened – of Lord Voldemort's return – such ties are more important than ever before."

Dumbledore looked from Madame Maxime and Hagrid, to Fleur Delacour and her fellow Beauxbatons students, to Viktor Krum and the Durmstrangs at the Slytherin table, and to Chiron and us demigods.

"Every guest in this Hall," Dumbledore said, his eyes lingering upon the Durmstrang students, "will be welcomed back here at any time, should they wish to come. I say to you all, once again – in the light of Lord Voldemort's return, we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided. Lord Voldemort's gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust. Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open."

After his speech, the hall slowly emptied. Soon, only me, Annabeth, and Dumbledore were left in the Hall.

"We're sorry that we couldn't protect Harry, Professor." Annabeth said.

"No worries," Dumbledore said.

"But, we still failed." I responded. "We didn't keep Harry safe. Voldemort came back."

"Chiron warned me to not fight with the Fates. Prophecies must not be fought." Dumbledore said.

We nodded in agreement, and left the hall.

'Prophecies must not be fought.' I repeated in my head. I knew that too well. What would come, would come…and Harry would have to meet it when it did.

-END-

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**I hope you enjoyed the Godly TriWizard Tournament! I can't believe this is the end :O And such a short ending, too! But, I liked this ending better than the other one I planned, so I went with it.**

**Unfortunately, I am not planning a new fanfic. School is starting for me next week, and I definitely won't have time to write. If I do get any ideas, then I would probably start it next summer. But for now, I have no plans, and this will (likely) be the only fanfic you shall get from me. I'm sorry! But, I really hope you liked this fanfic!**


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